


Sunrays on the Horizon

by sheaby



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blackwater, F/M, I mean as much as you can be with werewolves and vampires, Imprinting (Twilight), POV Alternating, Slow Burn, minimal violence, this is an interpersonal conflict fic, very human focused
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:40:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 98,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25477813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheaby/pseuds/sheaby
Summary: In which Seth - not Jacob - imprints on Nessie, and Jacob and Leah learn to heal together.
Relationships: Jacob Black/Leah Clearwater
Comments: 57
Kudos: 144
Collections: Twilight14





	1. Chapter One

“Go, then,” Edward snarled.

Jacob stumbled back as Edward’s hands replaced his; Edward’s pulses on Bella’s chest much, much faster and more desperate than Jacob’s. The attempts at CPR didn’t seem to be taking. Bella had promised that she would keep her heart beating, yet there was nothing. She’d broken her promise.

Another step back, another step towards the door. Bella was dying – maybe even dead already – Jacob didn’t know when they decided to declare people as dead.

“She’s not dead.” Edward’s words weren’t convincing and Jacob wasn’t sure to whom they were directed. “She’s going to be fine.”

Jacob took one last look at Bella’s mangled body – mangled corpse – before he spun slowly around, eyes taking in the site of the Carlisle’s office for the last time. Each step was labored, as the weight of all that happened settled on his shoulders. Bella was gone; the fight was over. Everything Jacob had wanted, every last wish he’d had was blown apart when that monster tore through her. She’d broken her promise.

As the panic and the desperation left Jacob’s body with each footstep towards the door, it was replaced by an anger unrivaled by anything he had felt before. No fight with Paul, no exchange with Edward, not even the realization that Bella was pregnant and going to keep the damn thing, nothing – absolutely nothing - had ever come even close to the furor Jacob felt currently. He saw red, and his mind settled on the only thing he could think of: kill what had killed Bella. He would avenge Bella and murder the spawn.

As he descended the stairs, he formulated his plan. Edward was still with Bella, too distracted to hear his thoughts. Not that he thought Edward would mind. He would want Bella avenged too, Jacob was sure of that. Jasper and Alice were hiding somewhere, probably trying to avoid the scent of blood that permeated through the entire house. With Carlisle, Esme and Emmett gone, the only thing standing in Jacob’s way was Blondie. He was confident he could take Blondie. She would be too distracted by the thing to put up a real fight.

Jacob looked down, from his spot halfway down the stairs, and sure enough, Rosalie was sitting on the couch, feeding a bottle full of bright red liquid to the spawn. Blood. Not even five minutes old and already a murderer, drinking blood like the unnatural creature it was.

“Jake,” Seth’s voice was an urgent whisper, “Jake!”

So distracted by his plan, Jacob hadn’t noticed that Seth was standing at the edge of the room, not too far from the stairs. He must have come in to see what the commotion was. It wasn’t a problem though; Jacob was stronger and faster than Seth. He could take him if Seth was so idiotic as to try to intervene. But Jake didn’t think he would be. Even Seth must see the truth: Bella must be avenged.

“Jake,” Seth started again, with a sense of urgency in his voice so great that Jacob worried that Seth might know his plan, “Jake, I –“

Jacob finished descending the stairs, a growl escaping him at Seth’s continued interruptions. Jacob didn’t want to lose his nerve; he couldn’t afford to be distracted.

“Jacob!” Jacob had never heard Seth sound so desperate.

He looked at Seth, really looked at him this time. Seth’s eyes were gazing at the monster in a desperate, but familiar way. Jacob took one glance back at the monster, but all he saw was a demon. A perfectly formed, deceivingly beautiful demon, but a demon all the same. He looked back at Seth, but Seth hadn’t taken his eyes off the spawn. The same desperate look still graced his face.

It took Jacob a second to place why Seth’s expression was so familiar, but when it hit Jacob, he couldn’t believe it had taken him so long to place it. Sam, Jared, Paul and Quil all stared similarly, but only at the center of their worlds. Only at their imprints.

“Oh shit!” The words fell from Jacob’s lips before he could stop them. Blondie glanced back, glaring at him as she continued to rock the demon. A snarl warned him away.

“Why are you still here, mutt?” Venom dropped from Rosalie’s voice.

Something about Seth’s gaze stopped Jacob’s thoughts dead in their tracks, the unfortunate interruption just enough to stall Jacob’s plan.

And then, from upstairs, he heard the frantic pounding of a racing heart. Bella’s heart, he knew, as it was the familiar pounding that he’d learned to love. The pounding that meant that he still had a chance, that maybe he could still save her. And yet, the fast and furious beating heart meant something different now. Bella was now worse than dead.

“Jake,” Seth whispered again, “Look at her.”

Jacob glanced one more time at the spawn and this time, he almost doubled over. The little demon had the same chocolaty brown eyes that Jacob had loved so much. The pain was almost unbearable.

Between the sudden pounding of Bella’s heart, and Seth’s desperate gaze, Jacob knew he couldn’t kill the spawn. He couldn’t hurt Bella, the woman he loved so much, even in her own death, and he couldn’t hurt Seth, his only friend in the world at the moment.

It took him a second, but Jacob realized he was shaking. As his plan slipped away, so did his outlet for his anger. The razor sharp focus that had stopped Jacob’s wolf from taking over was fast fading. He could no longer stop the shaking and he knew he was mere seconds away from phasing.

“Jake, get out of here.” Seth still hadn’t taken his eyes of the monster yet he could feel his Alpha losing control. His voice was firm and confident, more assured than Jacob had ever heard it.

And Jake obeyed. He burst through the door, letting it slam behind him, as he began to run to the forest. He could see Leah’s grey form outside the in the yard, peering in with a certain curiosity.

He ran until he hit the edge of the yard, right at the beginning of the forest. Then, without thought or intention, he let the anger and the animal take over. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shred of his jeans fly across the Cullen’s yard.

 _Jacob, what happened?!_ Leah demanded.

At first he, couldn’t answer. The pain was too great, all he could think of was Bella’s mangled corpse. Jacob couldn’t even decide what was worse, the mangled corpse or the beating of the heart that he had heard while downstairs. Both meant the same: Bella was gone. Jacob continued running aimlessly, too upset to slow down. Leah chased him, right on his heels the whole time.

 _Jacob, tell me what happened!_ Leah’s thoughts had more intention, more command to them. _Breathe and tell me what happened!_

At Leah’s command, he took several deep breaths, trying to peel his focus away from the anger pulsing through his veins.

He let his mind run over the events of the day, everything seeming so surreal. He could feel Leah focus in on everything, taking it in herself. His mind stumbled on his plan, as he went over it again. Break the spawn’s neck, then take Blondie. Two simple steps. He had half a mind to go back in there and just kill the thing. In his anger, he couldn’t quite remember why he had stopped.

_But what’s Seth still doing in there? Why didn’t you just kill it?_

At Seth’s name, it came back to him.

 _Your brother…._ He couldn’t finish it his thought, he couldn’t say the words. But Jacob also couldn’t shake the image of the look on Seth’s face when he saw the spawn out of his head.

Through the bond, Jacob felt Leah’s betrayal, the shock of the loving gaze that Seth had as she digested what had transpired.

She howled loudly, instinctively. No coherent thoughts graced her mind; the howling covered what she couldn’t put into words.

 _Leah! You have to stop! You’ll alert the other pack!_ Even in his anger, he had enough sense to know that he couldn’t let the other pack know what had transpired. They might try to kill the demon spawn, and that was Jacob’s right, not theirs. He wouldn’t let them take it from him.

Despite her rapidly rising anger flowing through the bond, she had enough sense to shut up. For several minutes, it was just the two of them seething together, the anger each of them felt feeding off of the other’s, Jacob at the death of his Bella and Leah at the unwelcome intrusion of yet another imprint.

No coherent thoughts passed through either of them. Rage filled the air, but beneath, it something much worst lurked: agony. The caustic mix of emotions flooded through both of them, Leah’s anger at Seth’s imprint, her despair at the reminder of what imprinting could do, Jacob’s agony at seeing Bella’s mangled body and his inability to fix it. All ran together until Jacob couldn’t fully tell what were his emotions and what were hers.

He found himself gulping for air, almost as if he was drowning.

And then, Jacob began to run.

-&-

Hours passed before Jacob calmed down enough to even think about phasing. Leah had followed him nearly the whole way, not always directly behind him, but never far away. They had run all the way to Canada and back, staying mostly within eyesight of one another. Night had just started to creep into the sky. At some point, they had managed to make their way not far from the bloodsucker’s land.

Neither had truly coherent thoughts, but of them were seeing things more rationally now.

But with the calmness, Jacob could see that his plan to kill the spawn wouldn’t help anything. It would turn him against the Cullens, and that included Bella now. Even in what was effectively her death, Jake couldn’t upset Bella. He couldn’t hurt her daughter anymore than he could hurt Bella herself.

 _The treaty is void now anyways, isn’t it?_ Leah asked, referring to the venom currently flowing through Bella’s veins. _So we can expect the other pack soon._

 _I gave them permission to change Bella._ Jacob mulled over the conversation he had with Edward.

Leah grimaced internally, _Well, I guess that takes care of that._

 _What are we going to do?_ Jacob tired not to let his dejectedness, his tiredness, slip through, but he knew Leah could sense it anyways. When it wolf form, it could take such effort to hide things that sometimes it wasn’t worth it at all.

 _We need to talk to the Elders._ As soon as Leah thought the words, Jacob scowled. That was one of things he had wanted to avoid.

_You knew that this was a temporary thing, Jake. The hiding out and living in the woods. You knew that Bella wouldn’t be pregnant forever. And the Elders and the other pack know that, too. You don’t want them to come seek out information._

Loath as he was to admit it, Leah’s words had reason. The last thing he needed was for Sam to drop by and discover that the demon spawn had been born.

 _If we speak with Elders first, then we can get them on our side before we tell Sam,_ Leah continued. _We can go to the border and ask for passage and insist on speaking with the Elders._

_And if they deny us?_

_I don’t think they will. They don’t want to fight anymore than we do._ Leah’s mind was full of the images of their tense meeting from a few days ago.

Jake considered this.

_And if they try to mount an attack while we’re gone?_

_They’re too nosy. They’ll want to know what we’re speaking to the Elders about._ Leah’s confidence was surprising.

But even Jacob had to admit that Leah had a point. If they had gone this long without attacking, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to hold off a bit longer. And he knew that Sam would hate to have Jacob in a meeting with the Elders without him.

 _We’ll do it then,_ Jacob agreed.

 _We need to go check on Seth._ Leah’s loyalty to her brother was endless, and apparently unconditional.

Jacob didn’t respond, but started running the short distance back to the bloodsucker’s place. Shortly behind him, Leah trotted along, for once okay with letting Jake take the lead. Both thoughts were heavy with the weight of the future. It had been one thing when Jacob was convinced he could somehow save Bella, but she was gone. And with Seth’s imprint, the chances of Jake leading an attack against the coven had slimmed considerably. And for Leah, the thought that the vampires now had a permanent role in her life was almost unbearable.

 _I’m going to have to tell my mom, aren’t I?_ She asked.

_Someone’s going to have to._

The sickly sweet scent of the vampires filled their nostrils as they approached the Cullen’s house. Neither dared to approach the house any more than the edge of the forest as they considered their next move.

_Should we go in?_

_No._ Jake answered too quickly, and Leah admitted knew that he was hiding something.

 _Those clothes I exploded in were my last pair,_ he admitted sheepishly

Leah let out an incredulous sigh, _So should I go in?_

_You don’t have to go in, but maybe you should talk to Seth? Make sure he’s okay?_

Jake could feel Leah’s inter turmoil as she weighed her disgust towards the leeches with her love of her brother. As she glanced in, Jake could feel her inner thoughts going over her choices.

She let out a huff. _I’ll go phase._

By the time Leah made it to the edge of the forest, Seth had seen Jake through the windows. He waved eagerly and bounded towards the door, almost skipping. Seth’s eager bounce continued all the way to the edge of the patio, where he waited expectantly.

“Hi Jake!” Seth said, “Do you wanna come in and meet Nessie?”

Jake shook his wolf head, and Seth looked slightly crestfallen. He nodded his head towards the forest, and right on cue, Leah emerged, fully dressed.

“Hey, Seth,” Leah’s voice was soft but loud enough to carry through the yard.

“Hi, Leah!” Seth exclaimed, “I’m so glad you’re here!”

“Seth, Jake said that you… imprinted,” Leah hesitated as she spoke, as if saying the word aloud might make a difference in Seth’s answer.

Seth nodded enthusiastically, “I did! And Leah, she’s perfect. I know you don’t like the Cullens, but you have to come meet her! Nessie. That’s what I’m calling her. She’s wonderful Leah, she’s so perfect and talented and - ”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, Seth. I will later, though, I promise.” Leah’s voice left no room for argument. She stood at edge of the patio, looking up at her younger brother, arms crossed.

“Well do you want any food? Esme made mac-n-cheese and it’s great! She’s such a good cook,” Seth continued just as happily as before, his sister’s refusal to see his new raison d’etre not affecting his mood at all.

“I’m not hungry,” Leah said a little too quickly, “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m great, Leah! You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’m your older sister. It’s just what I do,” Leah smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

From inside, they heard a baby’s cry. Seth’s smile faltered, and he looked back.

“I’m gonna go,” he said, “Unless you need me for something?”

“No, Seth, go head and go see your vampire spawn imprint,” Leah’s tone was surprisingly kind, at least for her.

Jake let out a low whine, reminding Leah of his predicament.

“Actually, Seth, could you get some clothes for this idiot?” Leah asked, jesting her finger back at Jacob.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll grab some of Emmett’s!” Seth dashed inside without looking back. He was back before a full minute had passed, a mess of clothes in his arms.

The spawn was still crying as Seth quickly handed them off, “Here you go, Jake! I gotta go though.”

Leah shuddered at the smell, but took them from Seth’s hands before leaning down and loosely tying them to Jacob’s front leg. Seth was back inside, and by the time Leah and Jake made it to the forest, Nessie had stopped crying.

“Wait here,” Leah commanded before disappearing behind a tree.

Jake felt the air shift, and within seconds he could feel Leah’s presence in his thoughts.

_You didn’t want to meet your future sister-in-law?_

_I need to work up to it._ If Jacob hadn’t been so tired, Leah’s truthful response would have been concerning. It was concerning, but Jake didn’t have it in him to do anything about it.

 _Right. Of course._ Jake let Leah’s thoughts settle down for a moment as she considered everything Seth had said, _And, uh, thanks for the clothes._

_No problem._

_I guess I’ll speak with the Elders now._ It still wasn’t Jacob’s first choice, but he was recognizing that it was his only choice that didn’t involve leaving Seth and Leah unprotected.

 _You can’t go alone._ Leah insisted. _It’s not safe._

_Wow, Leah, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were getting fond of me, worried about my safety._

_If Sam kills you, then I have to go back to his pack. It has nothing to do with your safety._ But although Leah tried to hide it, Jacob could tell that somewhere, deep inside of her, it did.

If he was being honest, Jacob didn’t love the idea of going with Leah, but the day had been tiring, and he could tell she had more energy to argue than he did. A certain numbness had set in after everything that had happened, and having her there to help explain his actions might help his case. And he really didn’t want to be the one to inform Sue Clearwater about her son’s imprint. Sue Clearwater could be scary like that.

 _Okay,_ he relented, _We’ll both go. But we’ll have to leave Seth here._

Leah looked back at the big house, where Seth was sitting on the couch, the spawn now safely in his arms. She had calmed down, and there were no cries to be heard. Blondie was nearby, seemingly suspicious, but clearly, she thought there was no attack imminent. Carlisle, Esme and Emmett had returned while Jacob and Leah had been on their anger run, and Jacob knew that Carlisle’s preference for peace would protect Seth. And as for Seth himself, with the goofy gaze on his face that had while he cradled the baby, Jake guessed that Seth wouldn’t even notice their absence.

_He’ll be safe here, Leah._

Leah didn’t respond but instead took off running towards La Push.

 _If we go human then we won’t seem as threatening._ Jacob mused as they approached the border. _I don’t think they’ll attack if we’re human._

 _Right._ Leah agreed. By now, they could see the edge of the reservation, the lights in the houses closest to the border visible through the windows.

 _Are we ready?_ Jacob asked.

In response, Leah howled.

Both quickly phased and threw on their clothes behind two separate trees to give the illusion of privacy. Once done, they stepped away from the trees, so they were right on the far side of the reservation’s line. Neither of them had shoes, and Jacob could feel the soft dirt of the forest against his toes.

“Do you think they’re coming?” Leah asked after several minutes had passed.

Jacob nodded, “I’m sure of it.”

To prove his point, Colin appeared from the trees merely seconds later. He froze at the sight of them, as if he was unsure what to do next. His unwillingness to approach Leah and Jacob left Jacob wondering if Sam had forbidden them from doing so.

“Is Sam coming?” Jacob asked.

The wolf head nodded. Leah and Jacob glanced at each other.

“Good. We need to speak with him.”

Colin nodded again, looking towards the west. He paced nervously, as if the pair of humans would be able to do anything against his wolf form.

It was only a few minutes later that Sam appeared in human form, with Jared and Paul flanking him on either side. Colin relaxed noticeably at the site of his Alpha.

“Leah, Jacob,” Sam said by way of greeting.

“Sam,” Jacob returned, “Paul, Jared.”

Leah said nothing, but did nod her head as an acknowledgement.

“Where’s Seth?” Sam asked.

Jacob ignored him, “We need to talk to Sue and Billy and Old Quil.”

“Why?” Sam demanded, “What happened? Where’s Seth?”

“Seth is at the Cullen’s place. He’s perfectly fine.” Fine didn’t even begin to cover it, Jacob thought bitterly. “We need to confer with the Elders, that’s all. We have some things we’d like to discuss with them.”

Sam considered this. His dark eyes studied the pair.

“We’re not here to fight, Sam,” Leah added. She sounded as tired and worn as Jake felt.

“Did Bella give birth to her child?” Sam demanded.

“We’d like to speak with the Elders,” Jacob repeated. He stared back at Sam, daring him to challenge him.

Sam paused to think for a minute. His eyes darted from Jake and Leah, studying them both. They settled on Leah for an uncomfortable second before he spoke again.

“Colin, go get Billy, Sue and Old Quil and have them wait at Old Quil’s place. Jared, go fetch yours and Paul’s clothes,” Sam commanded.

If there was anything strange about their tasks, neither made it known. Both Colin and Jared trotted off, leaving Sam with just Paul as his guard.

“We’ll allow it. But on our terms,” Sam spoke to Jacob and Leah now, “You can meet with the three of them at Quil’s place. And Jared, Paul and I will be waiting outside, and we will escort you on and off the reservation.”

“That’s fair.”

Jacob hadn’t been expecting anything less.

-&-

“You two are to wait here,” Billy said, “While we discuss the everything you’ve told us.”

He led Leah and Jacob out to Old Quil’s porch, where Sam, Jared and Paul were waiting on the steps. All three jumped up at Billy’s appearance.

“You three wait, as well,” Billy spoke to them, “Jacob and Leah have given us some information we’d like to discuss. We’ll speak with both of you once we’ve had time to discuss and make decisions.”

With that, he rolled back and headed inside. Jacob and Leah sat on the swing bench, Leah rocking them gently. Although he strained his ears, Jacob could make out no words coming from inside the house. The Elders knew the powers and limits of supernatural hearing too well.

“I think it went well.” Leah spoke at a slightly lower voice, glancing over at the three others. Paul was staring at them, though both Jared and Sam had their heads bowed. They all knew any conversations would be heard by all of them.

“As well as we could have hoped,” Jacob agreed, “She took it well, especially.”

Leah nodded. If Sue had been horrified by the news that her son had imprinted on a newly born half-vampire, she hid it well. Her face had remained solemn and betrayed nothing throughout their entire spiel. Sue Clearwater was tough. Jacob had always known that.

Although he had lots more he wanted to say, he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to give Jared, Paul and Sam any more information than they already had. For their part, the threesome was equally silent and left the whole group alone with their thoughts.

Jacob looked out at the reservation he’d called his home his entire life. Had it really only been a few months ago that all the wolf stuff was nothing more than legends? That Edward was just some bad memory of Bella’s? He wondered what Jacob of eight months ago would think of the scene. It felt as though years, decades even, had passed, not mere months.

“Jacob, Sam?” It was Sue who opened the door and peered her head out, “Can you both come here, please?”

Jacob and Leah shared a glance. He was hesitant to leave her alone, though he knew she could fight for herself. Or at least run of faster than the other two if necessary. And Leah was still Sue’s daughter, and if Sue thought there was any danger to her, she’d have brought her in, too. He stood up, and followed Sam into the house.

Sue led Sam and Jacob into the living room, where Old Quil had sat on the couch, Billy’s chair parked nearby. Sue took her place in the empty spot on the couch between Billy and Old Quill.

“Sam, Jacob came here today to inform that Bella Cullen gave birth to a baby girl earlier today,” Billy spoke, his voice quietly powerful, “It was my understanding that it was a difficult birth, and she nearly died. She would have died, except Edward Cullen injected her with his venom.”

Sam remained deceptively calm, “And the… thing she was carrying?”

“Wait, Sam. We’ll get to that. Before Edward injected Bella, he had spoken to Jacob about negotiating an exception to the treaty that would allow them to bite Bella. This is his right as Ephraim’s descendent. Is that correct, Jacob?”

Jacob nodded, and kept his eyes squarely on the wall behind his father’s head. He could feel Sam’s tension and anger beginning to mount beside him as the older man took in the news.

“Furthermore,” Billy continued, “We understand the Seth Clearwater has imprinted on half-vampire child. Is that correct, Jacob?”

“That’s correct.”

Jacob could sense Sam shift with unease as he listed to Billy’s words. Sam’s eyebrows arched, as if in disbelief. It had the same impact on Sam as it had on Jacob earlier; it seemed to stop the rage in its place as Sam digested this new information.

“Now the legends state what can happen if an imprint is killed. All of us,” Billy gestured to the elders, “would like to avoid that situation. I’m sure you both can agree.”

Jacob nodded. Beside him, Sam did the same.

“In that case, Jacob, you can inform the Cullens that the treaty still stands for now. But please, do not make any more negotiations without first informing us Elders. Even if it means ‘saving’ the lives of innocents.”

“I won’t.”

“Now, we Elders aren’t big fans of the two pack situation, but there has never before been so many wolves. And we understand that other circumstances may make this an ideal option for some of the pack members,” Billy continued and glanced outside, where Leah’s back could be seen from the window, “So perhaps this situation may allow for some different circumstances. So, if you two can agree to speak regularly, and to keep your packs from fighting, then we see no reason that the two pack model can’t continue. Can you agree to that?”

“Yes, sir,” Sam’s voice was clear and betrayed no emotion.

“Yes,” Jacob looked over at Sam. The tension in his shoulders was gone; he seemed more relaxed.

“This also means that Jacob and the Clearwaters must be allowed back on the reservation without any type of escort.”

“Understood.”

“Excellent. We just want what’s best for the tribe – as we know both you to do. We’re protectors of all people. But it’s hard to protect if there’s infighting.” Billy smiled for the first time since Jake had seen him, “Now, then, since all this is settled. We’d like to set up a weekly meeting between the Elders and both of you, as alphas. But we can figure out all that tomorrow. It’s late. For now, the two of you are both free to go and inform your packs of these new developments.”

Jake let out a sigh of relief – he had been expecting much more in the way of punishment – as he turned towards the door. Sam was a couple steps ahead of him, and he could still feel the tension between the two. It was palatable in the air, and he was sure that’s why the Elders were insisting on weekly meetings between the two.

“Jacob?” Sue’s voice rang out, interrupting Jacob as right before he crossed through the door, “Can you please tell my children that I expect them to sleep in their own beds tonight?”

"Sure, sure.”

"And Jake?” Sue continued, “I’m sure Billy expects the same for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to my fic. I never thought I’d be writing Twilight fanfiction in 2020 but I also never thought I’d live through a global pandemic yet here we are. Having recently re-read the books for the first time in 12 or so years, I was amazed (and angered?) at how wrong Leah and Jake were done. So this is my humble attempt to correct it.
> 
> I really have no idea how many people are reading Twilight fanfiction in 2020 but I figure there’s gotta be some people out there, so I’m posting this for your enjoyment. Obviously I’d love feedback in the form of comments but even likes or follows or whatever works too.  
> I have the first couple of chapters written and a fairly decent outline for the rest of the story. I’m thinking it will be relatively short, maybe 17-20 chapters but I’m also not known for being succinct so that may change. I’m also on fanficition.net under the same penname, and I’ll be posting there so just FYI if prefer that site. 
> 
> Also, just as warning, this is an entirely interpersonal conflict story. So if you’re looking for a fic with bloody battles or violence or evil vampires or whatever, then this isn’t the story for you. And, yes, that includes (spoiler alert!) that really strange half “battle” at the end of Breaking Dawn. That won’t be in this fic. This is a Leah and Jake slow burn fic and the conflict is entirely interpersonal. So I guess also if you’re looking for a fic where they hook up in chapter two, then this isn’t the fic for you. But anyways, that’s my disclaimer. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter Two

For the first time in only God knew how long, Leah Clearwater woke up in her own bed. While the wolf in her didn’t mind sleeping in the forest, the bigger part of her – the human part – was relieved to wake up and the feel the softness of the sheets. She stretched out her toes, relishing the feel of the cool cotton and rolled over, half ready to go back to bed. It wasn’t until she smelled the bacon wafting up to her room that she decided against it. 

“Mom, she’s just so great! She’s very smart, and she’s gifted, did I tell you?” Seth’s voice carried through the hallway as Leah crept downstairs. The eight hours of sleep she got – the most since she had split away from Sam’s controlling grasps – did little for her tiredness. 

“You told me, Seth.” Sue’s voice was patient, if not slightly strained. 

“Good morning, Leah!” Seth called out brightly, speaking before Leah had fully reached the kitchen. 

“Morning, kid.” Leah shuffled into the Clearwater’s small kitchen, please to find that Sue had anticipated her children’s hunger. A large pile of food was on the kitchen island, neatly arranged. Everything from biscuits (the frozen type from Pillsbury, but biscuits all the same), to bacon, eggs, and toast, all prepared by Sue. 

“Good morning, Leah. How did you sleep?” Sue looked genuinely happy to see Leah and Leah suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She and Seth had abandoned their newly widowed mother for several days without any word of warning. It didn’t matter that Sue Clearwater was strong. She was still their mother. 

“Great, thanks,” Leah muttered as she grabbed a piece of toast with one hand and a spoonful of peanut butter with another. Perpetually hungry, Leah barely spread the peanut butter on the toast before shoving it in her mouth. It wasn’t the first human food she had eaten since returning to the reservation, as she’d raided the fridge as soon as she arrived home last night. It was eat, shower, and then eat some more, before finally drifting off to sleep in the comfort of her own bed as a human. Leah loved being human. 

The family ate in silence for several minutes. Sue, who had never been the overbearing type, fussed at the two of them, asking them various questions about their life in the woods, and at times struggling to hide her horror when Leah admitted she hadn’t eaten anything but raw meat for the entire time they were away. Mostly, it was Seth who spoke and answered their mother’s questions. Leah sat silently, helping herself to all the food she wanted. 

After several minutes of Seth’s overly detailed explanations of every day in their renegade pack and the new center of his life, Seth suddenly perked up, and, after pausing between bites, Leah could hear footsteps approaching the house, too. 

“It’s Jake!” he exclaimed happily, always glad to see his favorite person. Or maybe second favorite person now. Everyone had gotten knocked down a rung for a half-vampire. Disgusting. 

From the kitchen window, Leah could see Jacob walking up to the back door. Jacob appeared at the door and knocked twice loudly before letting himself in, not even pretending to wait for one of the Clearwaters to let him in. 

“We don’t have any fucking food,” he complained as he pushed his way in, “Paul ate it all.” 

“Good morning to you, too, Jacob,” Sue responded, in her usual no-nonsense way. She wasn’t the type to get offended by Jacob’s lack of manners or care about his language. 

“Good morning, everyone.” Jake sang out sarcastically before grabbing a biscuit from the counter. 

“Hi, Jake!” Seth called out, “We have plenty of food! You can eat here!” 

“Thanks. All the fucking food is gone at home,” Jacob repeated before turning to face Sue, “But I did go home.” 

Leah was genuinely surprised. When they both went back to fetch Seth, as wolves, his mind wasn’t made up. He had seemed ready to head for Canada again and leave Leah and her brother behind. His indecision carried them all the way back to the res, where he left Leah and Seth at their doorstep. 

Sue gestured for him to sit down beside Seth. He obeyed, smearing some peanut butter on a piece of toast as he did, “I’m sure it means a lot to Rachel and Billy that you went home, Jacob.” 

“Yeah, they were just thrilled to see me. So happy,” Sarcasm dripped from Jacob’s voice, but Leah knew that Jacob’s sister and father must have relieved to have him spend the night, “Didn’t even save me any fucking food.” 

“I’ll remind Billy to go shopping,” Sue offered, before seeing his unimpressed face and adding, “Or maybe I’ll just pick you all up some stuff from the store myself.” 

“I didn’t see Paul eat all the food.” Jacob admitted as he snatched another piece of toast from the pile, having already swallowed the first, “I think Rachel told him to stay away, at least for the time being. But there’s no food. So I know he ate it all.” 

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to,” Sue said diplomatically. Her voice left no room for argument, “What are the three of you doing today?” 

“We have lots to do,” Jake grumbled. 

“Like what?” There was something other than curiosity in Seth’s voice. Nervousness maybe? Leah wasn’t sure. 

“I’m supposed to meet with Sam to iron out details or something of the new treaty. I don’t know. It’s all part of Billy’s ploy for peace.” 

“It’s not a ploy.” Sue spoke with authority, although Leah could tell she was slightly exasperated with Jacob, “He’s being realistic. There can’t be infighting within the packs, especially now that Bella has given birth.” 

“So now the demon spawn can attack us herself,” Leah mumbled under her breath. 

“She wouldn’t, Leah!” Seth eagerly piped in, “Nessie’s very smart, she’s talented. She knows so much already.” 

“And,” Sue continued, ignoring their exchange, “We have to figure out a way to get you all back on track in school and in your lives. So you need to figure out a patrol schedule that utilizes both packs.” 

“School?” Jacob’s mouth had about hit the floor. Even Seth groaned at the mention of school. 

“Yes, Jacob, school. You are sixteen years old and there is not much in this world you can do with a tenth-grade education. Billy might be content to let you run amuck in the forest, but I am not. That’s not what your mother would have wanted for you,” Sue spoke with such authority that it was easy to forget that she was speaking to the technical chief of the tribe. “And you, Seth, absolutely cannot miss your entire high school education. You will go back to school on Monday, on time, and sit through all of your classes, and take notes, and learn something. ” 

Leah wasn’t surprised that her mother turned to her next, but that didn’t mean she was looking forward to Sue’s words, “Leah, you have a semester and a half of college under your belt. You might have missed the deadline to register for classes for this fall, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a job or do something productive with your life. This wolf thing is a part of your life. Not all of it.” 

Sue’s words stung like a slap in the face. The derailment of Leah’s life was not something that she took lightly. So worried about Sam’s disappearance, Leah had delayed college applications until her only option was the community college in Port Angeles. Not that she really had the grades to get a scholarship to go elsewhere, and it wasn’t like the Clearwaters had some huge sum of money to send her anywhere. But still. It would have been nice to have had options. 

Of course, the college thing was only half the problem. Leah had dropped out of her community college classes after her father’s death and the whole _I suddenly change into a giant wolf any type I’m slightly irritated_ problem. Sam had (rightfully) deemed her too big of a threat to spend any extended amount of time among the general populace. But she had better control now than a few months ago. And Jacob was absolutely not the type to forbid her from going to school. Hell, Jacob would probably think it was hilarious if she turned into a wolf in the middle of anatomy class. 

“I’m working on it,” Leah hissed. Despite her attempts to calm herself, she could feel the slight trembles running through her body. She willed herself to breathe, focusing on each breath, and not at her mother’s skeptical glare. She wouldn’t prove Sam right by losing control right here. 

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Sue jumped up. Saved by the bell, Leah thought bitterly. 

“Hello?” Sue grabbed it before anyone else could, “Hello, Billy. No, he’s here.” She made a meaningful glance at Jacob. 

With werewolf hearing, it was possible to make out everything that Billy was saying on the other side of the line. He was speaking quickly, talking about Charlie’s latest call, and wondering how to keep his friend from hunting down his daughter. Jacob’s face was unreadable, although Seth was looking down at his food, pushing it around in a manner so unlike him that Leah could almost feel the guilt radiating off her brother. 

“We’ll go to him. Tell him we’ll go to his house and we’ll figure it out. I’ll come get you,” Sue was already grabbing the keys to the Clearwater’s van, “I’ll see you in a few, Billy.” 

“This will be good,” Jake muttered beneath his breath, too low for human ears to hear. 

“Billy and I are going to go talk to Charlie. Talk him out of flying to Atlanta.” Sue sounded tired as she turned her kids, “You three behave. Don’t burn down the house. Don’t antagonize Sam.” 

“Sure, sure,” Jacob agreed. Leah rolled her eyes. Her mere existence antagonized Sam, although she was confident in her abilities to keep the house from burning down. 

“I mean it!” Sue warned. With that, she snatched her purse off the hook and pushed her way out the back door. 

The three sat in silence for a while, as they continued feasting on all the food Sue had made for them. Leah was glad her mother knew better than to expect any leftovers. Despite making enough for a good-sized crowd, the three of them had managed to demolish the entire feast. 

“Jake?” Seth asked tentatively after he’d eaten at least three biscuits and probably half a dozen eggs. 

“What’s up, kid?” 

“Do you think we’ll have time for me to stop by and see Nessie?” Seth looked up at the older boy hopefully. 

For a half-second, Leah and Jacob made eye contact. Jake frowned slightly at the mention of Seth’s imprint. 

“Yeah, we’ll have time for that,” Jacob’s voice was tense and he paused for a second, “Actually, Seth, why don’t you just head over there now?” 

“You don’t mind?” Seth asked happily. 

“Nah, kid, just go.” 

Seth obeyed without even thinking about it, slipping off his shoes before he left the house, running barefoot towards the forest. 

“Put your plate away, loser!” Leah called after him. But it was too late. He was halfway to the forest and didn’t glance back. 

“Oh, to be newly imprinted,” Jake’s voice was laced with acrimony. Leah saw that his hands were trembling, just slightly, but it was certainly there. 

“Breathe, Jake. Don’t destroy my mother’s kitchen.” 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he grumbled, though Leah did notice that he took several deep breaths in and out until he was calm enough to let his human side take over. 

Much to Leah’s surprise, Jacob remained calm enough to help her clean up. Silently, they did the dishes, Jake washing and Leah drying, and put away the few leftovers (a few pieces of turkey sausage and two biscuits). Of course, the second they were done, he was out the door, barely muttering a goodbye. 

And then Leah was alone. She had the whole house to herself. The Clearwater house wasn’t big - no homes on the res were – but it was home. She flipped on the small TV and threw herself on the couch. Like all the other wolves, she had shot up a few inches since joining the pack and her feet now hung off the edge of the couch when she laid down. But it was still comfortable. It was still home. And in the safety of her home, Leah let herself relax. 

-&-

When Leah phased a few hours later, she wasn’t terribly surprised to be greeted by Jacob’s moody thoughts. What she was surprised, though, to find that it wasn’t Bella’s death that was making him so grumpy. 

Instead, as the lush green forest blurred through his vision, he was mulling over Sam’s request to meet with him in an hour. 

_You can talk to Sam?_ She couldn’t help but interrupt, as the horrifying possibility that she could somehow still be connected to Sam dawned on her. 

The intrusion didn’t seem to bother Jacob, _Yeah. It turns out that if we’re both phased I can think thoughts that I want him to hear and he’ll hear them. It only seems to work with him though. Couldn’t do it with Jared when I tried._

Thank God, Leah thought to herself, although she knew Jacob could hear her, too. 

_Yeah, he can’t hear you. Don’t worry._ Jacob was still grouchy, but he seemed to genuinely want to comfort her. 

_At least you never have to hear Paul’s thoughts again._

_Just have to accept him into my family as my brother-in-law,_ Jake complained. Despite Jacob’s words, Leah sensed a tiny hint of happiness at the thought of never having Paul in his head again. 

_Better Paul than a half-vamp. I just hope she doesn’t stink like the rest of her family. I’ll never get the stench out now._

Jacob shuddered internally at the memory of Seth’s secondhand stink permeating through the halls of the Clearwater’s house when they had arrived home last night. Although it was gone by morning, Leah feared it would be back again tonight, setting up an inevitable cycle where her entire life stank. 

_At least there’s that_ , he allowed. 

_The grass is always greener,_ Leah mused. 

Jake let out a noise of agreement. For several moments, Leah let her thoughts wander, and Jake did the same. There was no real conversation, no real flow to the thoughts. They just were. 

_Well, should we go?_ Jake broke the silence with the four words that left Leah confused. 

_Go where?_

Leah saw a picture of some unnamed clearing in the middle of the woods and understood suddenly that that was the place where Sam had asked to speak with Jacob.

_You want me to go with you? What about Seth?_ The problem with the bond was that Leah was unable to hide anything. Jacob could feel her surprise, and even worse, her wish to hide it. 

_He’s at the Cullen’s._

Both Jacob and Leah had spent enough time with newly imprinted people to understand that recent imprints spent a lot of time together. Too much time together. And even when imprints weren’t recent, the imprint would cloud the wolf’s thoughts, hanging over like a constant shadow, impossible to escape. 

The journey back to La Push after collecting Seth the prior day was bad enough. They both had been treated to a never-ending monologue about some freaky vampire talent that the demon spawn had inherited and how wonderful and adorable she was. Neither Leah nor Jacob was eager for a repeat. 

But after experiencing several Sam-free days, Leah wasn’t exactly in a hurry to get in the habit of seeing her ex again. She had, after all, seen him just yesterday. That was quite enough for her. And yet, Leah was torn. Not showing up was basically the same as backing down. It felt like letting Sam win, and Leah needed him to know that he hadn’t won, just because he was rid of her. 

_So you’re coming then?_ Jacob had seen her entire internal dilemma, felt every conflicting emotion. The lack of privacy was always grating. 

_I guess so,_ Leah relented, _I’ll race you there!_

She took off, challenged by the fact that Jacob was significantly closer to the clearing spot than she was. Not only could she beat Sam, but she could beat Jacob, too. 

-&-

Leah strolled down the main street of Port Angeles, window shopping, and simply enjoying being out of La Push and away from the drama of the vamps and the two packs and everything else she wished she could leave behind. Secretly, she wanted to go much further than just Port Angeles – maybe Seattle or Portland – but her familiarity with Port Angeles lent itself to the fact that her mode of transportation was quite conspicuous. For now, Port Angeles would do. 

The meeting with Sam and Jared had gone off without a hitch. They agreed to a rough new patrol schedule, where each pack would take some shifts, but there would be no more constant patrolling. Jake seethed over the fact that Sam still thought he owned La Push, even though they agreed it was shared land, but he had been mostly amenable to the other Alpha. It was all surprisingly diplomatic. Truthfully, when Leah had become a werewolf she had pictured more fights and fewer meetings. 

Even before this, there had been stupid council meetings that she was now expected to attend, and even stupider meetings that Sam insisted on with the whole pack, always at Emily’s house and always torture. But based on Jake’s reaction to the two meetings he’d had as Alpha so far, Leah guessed that in Jacob’s pack, the meetings would be rarer. And that was something to be grateful for. 

And then, after the meeting, she’d done it, the task she was dreading most of all. She’d met Nessie. It was quick – the leeches were not about to let their precious little freak of nature out of their sight – but Leah had fulfilled her promise to meet the little mini-vamp. She didn’t touch the demon spawn or anything like that (of course not), but she had stood there and smiled at her while Seth showed her off and cooed over her. 

Jacob had not. He had taken off as soon as their little meeting was done, although it seemed like he had plans to return at some point. Maybe. Leah could never tell with him and was half expecting him to just disappear one day without any word of warning. 

Werewolf life had its problems, but there was no denying the freedom that came with being able to run to Port Angeles faster than any car could possibly go (not that she had a car to use, anyway). And now that she’d done two horrible, awful chores, she deserved some alone time, away from the drama that came with being a stupid, supernatural creature. 

Leah had learned some time ago that if she tied strung flip-flops or sandals through her rope that held her clothes, she could have almost a whole outfit. Her t-shirt was wrinkled, her jean shorts a little tight, and her flip-flops looked out of place in the cool September weather, but she was put together enough where she felt like she could wander the streets of Port Angeles without attracting stares. And so, despite the rainy weather, Leah found herself in a good mood. She didn’t mind the water running across her toes, nor did she mind the cool air and the slight breeze. One of the perks of running at 109 degrees. 

Leah knew the streets of Port Angeles well, but she hadn’t been in a few weeks and new businesses seemed to be popping up all the time. It was a yoga studio that caught her eye, across the street from the bookstore that she had once gone to with Sam, back when they were still together and still thought they might go away to college. A lifetime ago, really. 

She crossed the street eagerly, dodging the few cars that were waiting for the light to change, and pushed her way into the airy studio. The walls were painted a calming baby blue and Tibetan prayer flags hung on the walls. Other than her, the front room was empty, though she could hear the noises from a class on the other side of the closed door.

“Can I help you?” The receptionist had long blonde hair and a smile that didn’t seem quite genuine.

"I’m just interested in getting some information.” Leah willed her voice to sound more bored than anything else. 

“Have you done yoga before?” the woman eyed Leah, seemingly judging both her height and her physique. Leah was in great shape, thanks to the werewolf genes currently ruling her DNA. Not that she’d been out of shape before, but it turns out there was no way to tone up quite like being a werewolf. 

“No, I haven’t,” Leah admitted without shame. She had never been the type to back away from new things or be shy about any type of inexperience, “But they teach you relaxation techniques, right? Like breathing and all that?” 

“Oh yeah, it’s great for that,” the woman said, grabbing a couple of fliers from the front desk. She smiled again in a way that felt more judgmental than anything else, “Here’s some information on our beginner level classes. But you can easily skip up to more advanced classes if they’re not challenging enough for you.” 

Once again, Leah felt the woman eyeing her. But Leah grabbed the flier from the woman as she pushed it towards her, ignoring her jealous eyes. If only she knew the truth. Leah would trade her body for a normal life in a heartbeat. 

“And here’s some information on the pricing and how the studio works. The phone number is at the top if you have any questions!” The woman shoved another piece of paper at her. 

Leah caught a glimpse at the number on the page - $75 per month - as the woman handed her the flier. She took it and tried to keep her expression even. In her current unemployed status, Leah couldn’t spare $75 a month. She didn’t know anyone – other than the bloodsuckers – who could. 

“Right, thanks,” Leah said as she turned towards the exit. Even yoga, one of her goals, seemed unattainable. 

Once back on the streets, Leah folded two fliers into little squares, like she used to do when passing notes in school so that she could shove them in her jean pockets. She may have figured out how to get outfits acceptable for walking around, but the outfits didn’t have all the comforts, like a purse or an appropriate place to put things. It was still a compromise. 

Continuing her stroll, Leah took a turn down a familiar street. On King Street, there was a small ice cream store, Port Angeles Creamery, which was barely more than the two cases of ice cream and the two cappuccino machines that kept the store in business during the cold season. When she was younger, it was the only place in Port Angeles that Leah consistently begged her parents to take her to. Sue never gave in, but any trip to Port Angeles with Harry nearly always included a stop at the store. 

As she debated going in, she considered her life circumstances. Leah’s boss was a sixteen-year-old kid, who while an improvement over her old boss, aka her ex-boyfriend, was still a kid four years younger than her. Her future sister-in-law was almost certainly going to be a half-vampire. Her father was dead, and it was her fault. One of her plans to get her life on track – yoga – seemed like it might be out of reach. Leah deserved some ice cream, goddamnit. 

The door jingled as Leah pushed open the door, but the shop was empty. 

“I’ll be out in a second!” A songlike voice called out from the back room, “Take a look around and let me know if you have any questions!”

Leah didn’t have any questions, nor did she need to look around. The triple chocolate fudge had always been her favorite at Port Angeles Creamery, and Leah had no intention of deviating from what she knew was good. 

“Leah Clearwater?” the songlike voice called her name, and a short, tanned girl stepped out from the back room. Leah had never been one to flee from her problems, but in that instant, she fought every instinct in her body to run away, “Wow, I almost didn’t recognize you! You cut your hair.” 

Amy Conweller – Kim’s older sister – was staring at her. Amy was a year older than Leah, in Rachel and Rebecca’s year at school, and Leah hadn’t seen her since their graduation. 

“Hey, Amy,” Leah greeted her, a tense smile on her face, “It’s good to see you.” 

“You too!” Amy smiled back warmly, “What can I get you?” 

“I’ll have a large triple chocolate fudge in a cup, please.” It didn’t matter that she’d had a big breakfast. That was hours ago, and she hadn’t had lunch thanks to the stupid meeting. 

“Coming right up!” Amy reached for the largest cup size and began scooping the ice cream. 

“What are you doing here? Last I heard you were at Oregon State.” Leah couldn’t help herself; the curiosity was eating her away. Amy, like Rachel, had managed to get scholarships from the council and get away from La Push and the res. 

“Oh yeah, that didn’t work out,” Amy avoid eye contact as she scoped the ice cream, “I’m taking a semester off. Figuring it out. Working here and at the resort on the res. What about you? Are you going to school? Or working? Or what?” 

“I’m taking a semester off, too.” It wasn’t technically a lie. Leah had completed a semester of community college last fall and she had half of one done when her entire life had imploded on itself. This semester she was also taking off because her life was continuing to implode. Maybe she’d make it back once the dust settled. Or maybe not. 

“Oh really? Doing what?” Amy looked at her, but the question didn’t feel nosy. She seemed genuinely curious. 

“I- I haven’t quite figured that out yet,” Leah admitted. 

“Kim told me your dad died in March. I’m really sorry for your loss.” Like her sister, Amy had a way of making everything seem sincere.

“Thank you,” Leah replied uncomfortably, “It means a lot.” 

“He was a good man. I mean, I didn’t know him really or anything but he was on the scholarship committee and he was nice to me when I met with them for that,” Amy spoke awkwardly. 

“Uh, yeah, he was a good man.” Good man didn’t even begin to cover it. Leah’s father had been the best type of man, a great father, a great man all around. 

“Here,” Amy placed Leah’s ice cream on the top of the counter and reached for a napkin and a spoon to give her. 

“How much do I owe you?” Leah shoved her hands into her pockets, reaching for the five-dollar she always kept stuffed in her jean pocket. She hadn’t thought to look at the prices and this encounter was only going to get more awkward if the five didn’t cover it. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Amy waved her hand, “Us res kids gotta stick together.” 

“Thanks,” Leah muttered, torn between shame at the charity and gratefulness that she wouldn’t have to admit that she might not have enough to cover it. She took the spoon and the napkin, and turned to leave, “It was nice to see you, Amy.” 

“Wait, Leah! You know the resort on the res?” As if anyone who had ever been to the Quileute reservation could miss the imposing resort that was the main source of income for the tribe. But Leah managed to avert her eye roll and let Amy finish, “I’m working there part-time, too, at the front desk. I know they’re looking for more help since the two other girls working there went off to school. So if you’re looking for something, I could give them your info.” 

“That would be… great, actually.” Leah hadn’t meant to agree. But Amy’s sincerity made it hard to turn her down. And just that morning Sue had bagged on her for not having a job. 

“Really? Great! What’s your number? I’ll pass it on,” Amy promised. 

Leah rattled off her number as Amy jotted it down, with assurances that the manager was just looking for anyone who could fog a mirror. Adding that to the fact that Leah was Quileute, not even an outsider, and Amy assured her that she’d be a surefire bet for the job.

So Leah left the store with free ice cream and a job. She had the whole afternoon to herself, free of vampires and werewolves and anything else supernatural. She’d get to go to sleep in an actual bed, and would quite possibly never have to sleep in the forest again. So all in all, even with Seth’s new imprint, it wasn’t the worst day. If this was her new life, maybe Leah could live with this, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as I mentioned previously, I’m trying to right some of the wrongs/plot holes in Breaking Dawn. Included in that is the fact that a bunch of 16 year old boys appear to just completely abandon their studies? Seems unrealistic to me. So yeah, we’re going to see Jake in high school (or more so hear about him in high school. We’ll see him there but only a little bit). 
> 
> Also, I never saw the Twilight movies and I’m going off a mix of what I see in the Twilight Wiki and my own informal research into the greater Forks area (according to Google Maps, there’s definitely a resort on the Quileute reservation. I have no idea if it was there in 2005 or not, but we’re going to assume it was). So this whole story might be a mix of canon and not canon but I’m trying my best to stick with canon as much as possible (minus the whole imprinting change that’s the basis for this whole thing). I think in the books Leah is supposed to be in the same grade as Bella but as a fellow September birthday, I know that Bella would have been old for her grade and so Leah, at 20, which she is stated to be in Breaking Dawn, would have been really old. So I tried to go with what made sense more so than what was necessarily canon. If you see anything glaringly inaccurate, let a girl know and I’ll look into it and fix it if it doesn’t interfere terribly with the story. 
> 
> But anyways, I’d love to hear your thoughts! I promise that the time will speed up in the coming chapters; this is just to build the background. Also while there will be some OCs, they won’t play a major part in the story. Also, I promise to try to make my author’s note shorter next time. Thanks for reading!!


	3. Chapter Three

The halls of Quileute Tribal School had never felt so foreign to Jacob. After he first phased, Jacob had missed a week and a half of school. This time, it had only been a week, but Jacob felt a thousand years older.

As he passed by the other kids, the ones fortunate enough to be ignorant of the truth of their legends, Jacob could feel his status as an outsider. He towered over everyone else, even those on the basketball team. Everyone gave him leeway, and while he caught more than one person staring, they looked away as soon they felt Jacob's eyes on them. But really, Jacob couldn't blame them. After all, they all thought he was in a gang.

Honestly, Jacob had half a mind to leave at lunch and never come back. Head out to Canada and live as a wolf like he always threatened to. He wasn't even completely sure why he was here, back in school. He'd debated not coming at all, just checking in with Billy and Rachel and then leaving. But he hadn't.

It was Rachel's face, her pleading face, he thought, that eventually convinced him. Her _I know I left you for a long time and I'm really sorry about that but please don't leave me alone here with Billy even though I have Paul_ face. It didn't matter how long it had been since Jacob had seen the twins; for a long time, they were the most important girls in his life. The only girls in his life, really. Until Bella. But just as he'd felt indebted to Bella and suckered into doing her bidding, on some level he felt the same for the twins. He loved them enough to just want them to be happy.

It's why he didn't blame Rachel and Rebecca for running off. They were only doing what they thought best, what would make them happiest. And it did make them happy, until Rachel came back and Paul imprinted and somehow Rachel was insisting she was happy here. Which did make Billy happy, having Rachel back. Every evening since she'd returned, Billy kept making comments about how good it was to have "almost the whole family" back together. So Jacob stayed. He stayed for Billy and Rachel and no one else.

Now he didn't have Bella, but he did have Leah. A horrible trade, if he could say so himself. Although Leah was trying. If someone had told him the last time he was eating lunch at Quileute Tribal School that in just over a week he'd have Leah but not Bella, he'd have laughed them off and been appalled by the prospect. But it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

Life was funny like that.

The cafeteria was as crowded as ever, but the table that had formerly belonged the pack was still empty. Quil and Embry were nowhere to be seen, though. Jacob wasn't even sure if they were back in school yet. Maybe Sam had them attacking the Cullens right now. Unlikely, but not impossible.

For a strange second, Jake found himself longing for the spring months when Paul and Jared were still at school. The five of them would eat together, laughing and fighting and it had felt almost normal. Nothing in Jacob's like was normal, but in the crowded cafeteria at that time, he could forget that. But Jared and Paul were both gone, having somehow managed to graduate and were working part-time and helping Sam patrol during the day.

Even two weeks ago, it the very beginning of the school year, it had been their table. Seth replaced Paul and Jared, although he came and went, having somehow accomplished the impossible: maintaining his non-wolf friendships. So it had gone back to just Quil, Embry, and Jacob like it was before the legends came to life.

Unsure of what else to do, Jacob sat down at their table and took out his lunch from his book bag. None of his morning classes were with Quil, and the one class he had with Embry – English – Embry hadn't shown up for. But it was first period, so that didn't mean much. Embry was notorious for oversleeping.

In her never-ending quest for forgiveness, Rachel had packed him a lunch. She'd shoved it in his hands, but said nothing except "have a good day" as he had grabbed his bag for school. It was a new thing she was trying, another way to guilt him into staying. It had worked, Jacob mused, realizing he was still in school, just like Rachel would have wanted.

Even for the few weeks where Jake had gone to school but before Bella had gotten back from her honeymoon and thrown his life all off-kilter again, Jacob had packed his own lunch, just like he had every day since he was ten years old. But now he was back, and Rachel made a big but awkward show of doing it for him. If he were vengeful like Leah, he'd have put it down the river. But food was food, and it was better to eat it than to waste it. And Rachel could cook pretty well. And it was just a nice gesture, he supposed.

He hadn't had someone make him lunch since his mom died.

"Can we sit with you?" It seemed implausible, but Jacob had been so engrossed with his food that he hadn't heard Embry and Quil approaching. The cafeteria was too full of noises and scents to make out his friends' footsteps or the distinct smell of werewolf.

Jacob's mouth was full of one of the five sandwiches Rachel had packed, but more than that, he didn't really have any words to say to his two friends. Instead, he just gestured that the seats were empty, and Quil and Embry sat down.

"Sorry we're late," Embry said, "Mrs. Nolan was filling us in on all we missed in her class. She loaded us up on homework and other bullshit."

Jacob grunted in response and took another big bite of the sandwich. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Quil and Embry exchange a look.

"Jake, we're really sorry," Quil said quickly, "We didn't want to abandon you, it was just a hard situation and -"

"It's fine," Jake swallowed before speaking harshly, "We don't have to talk about it."

Quil and Embry exchanged another look, but each took out their lunch.

"So Sam didn't make you guys go to school last week?" Jacob asked after taking another big bite and swallowing, unable to contain himself. It was surprising. Sam always made it clear that protecting the people of La Push was the first priority, but school was a close second. He'd managed to graduate despite phasing in the middle of his senior year, missing a whole month of school and convincing himself he had gone crazy, so he didn't see why the rest of the pack couldn't graduate either.

"He seemed to think an attack was imminent," Embry offered awkwardly, "He made Brady and Colin go, though."

"Not sure what two eighth-graders would really be able to do anyways," Jake mumbled.

"Like Seth and Leah could do much," Quil shot back. Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob saw Embry elbow him.

"Jacob's right. We shouldn't talk about it," Embry declared. The peacekeeper of the group, always.

The awkward silence that fell over the group allowed the wolves to hear everything. From two tables over, there was a group of giggling girls. Although he tried to ignore them, Jacob could feel the stares of all five girls. They were too close to block out completely, and despite the background noise, Jacob could hear their conversations. All of them were curious about the boys' extended absences, and there was a debate over whether or not anyone should talk to them.

"Incoming," Embry muttered, too low for humans to hear.

"Hi, Quil. Hi, Embry and Jacob." It was Rowena Ascarrunz, tall, slender and with hair pulled back in a long braid that braved the boys. Her scent proceeded her, having doused herself in cheap perfume. Even before the heightened sense of smell, Jacob remembered it being too much the few times he'd been stuck with her in group projects.

"Uh, hi, Rowena," Quil managed, although not before shooting both Jake and Embry a look of desperation.

"I know you were out all last week and you missed the math test," she smiled at him, not realizing that her words could be taken as stalkerish and creepy. She swayed slightly as she spoke, perhaps out of nervousness. Jacob wasn't sure, "I didn't know if you wanted help studying or anything. I'm pretty good at math, you know. I'd be happy to help out."

"I'm actually good," Quil smiled politely at her, although he was blushing slightly, "But thank you for the offer."

"Oh," Rowena looked marginally crestfallen, though she recovered quickly, before turning to Embry, "What about you, Embry?"

"We're… not in the same math class." Embry couldn't hide his puzzled amusement at her offer, "I'm in pre-calc and you're in algebra two. And I didn't have a test last week. So while it's kind of you to offer, I don't think it would be helpful."

Rowena's entire face flushed red, "Oh right." She shifted her weight on to the other foot, before turning to Jacob hopefully, "What about you, Jacob? You're in Mr. Lee's algebra two class, aren't you? Just in third instead of first?"

"I am," Jacob confirmed, his mind quickly running through various excuses, "But my sister's back in town, and she minored in math in college. She's already promised to help me, and since she knows so much about it, I think I'll just get her help."

"Oh, okay." Now poor Rowena looked positively downtrodden, "But if either of you changes your mind, the offer still stands! And Embry, I'd be happy to help you in another class, if you want it!"

Rowena spun around, head held high as she marched back to her table where her friends were waiting expectantly. She seemed both angry at their rejection and humiliated.

The second she turned her back, Quil snorted, letting the laughter he had been containing escape. Jacob only managed to make about two seconds longer before he too was laughing. Only Embry seemed unaffected, although he had a cheerful smile in his eye as he shook his head at the two other boys.

Rowena shot back a glare at their table as she sat back down, which only made Quil laugh harder.

"Ah, guys, don't laugh. It was nice of her to offer." Embry had always been the kindest of the trio, but even he had a giant grin on his face and was struggling not to laugh.

"Embry, man," Jake managed between snickers, "She didn't even know what math class you're in."

"Come on Embry, you should have given her a chance!" Quil joked, "Maybe you could have taught her something!"

"Rowena is _not_ my type," Embry said adamantly, "And even if she was, I don't think I should be dating right now. Seen a little too many hearts broken to even be tempted. Maybe you should have taken up her offer, though, Quil. Not sure how much Claire's going to be for you."

"I'd ask Leah for help studying for math before I'd ask Rowena," Quil declared, "Way too much perfume. It's like sitting next to the vamps. What about you, Jake? Would you rather have Leah help or Rowena?"

If Jake had learned anything the past few days, it was that Leah was nowhere near as bad as she had once thought. Faced with the possibility of having her in his head for the rest of eternity, or at least until he stopped phasing, no longer had the same impact it once did.

"Leah, definitely. She's not that bad," He felt oddly compelled to defend his pack member, "But really, I don't need help. I can fail the math test all on my own."

Embry and Quil both howled with laughter.

The good thing about Rowena's offer was it broke the ice between the friends, and the awkwardness more or less dissipated. Now they were talking and joking like normal, like they hadn't been on opposing sides of an almost war.

"Did Rachel really minor in math?" Embry asked Jacob after they had finally stopped laughing.

Jacob nodded, "Yeah, man. Minor in math and major in economics and graduated early. She's always been a nerd."

"Damn and then she ends up in love with Paul of all people," Embry rolled his eyes, "He can barely write his own name. Imprints are fucking crazy."

"At least he knows she'll always be the smart one," Quil offered, "She can do the taxes and get a job and Paul can… sit on his lazy ass."

"Sounds like a shitty deal for her," Embry remarked.

"Yeah, but it works out great for Paul. He gets to be a trophy husband," Jacob grumbled. The conversation fell to them discussing whether or not they'd be happy as trophy husbands. Quil said he'd be fine with it, Jacob wasn't sure, and Embry was completely opposed to the idea.

When the bell rang to end the lunch hour, the three of them walked together to their next class – the only one they had together – chemistry.

"Where were you this morning in English?" Jacob asked Embry, "Mr. Martin asked me and I told him I didn't know and I could tell he didn't believe me."

"I overslept," Embry explained, "I was exhausted from all the fucking patrols Sam is having us run. So I slept through my alarm and woke up to my mom screaming at me. So I'm grounded again."

"Damn," Jake shook his head, "You gotta tell your mom."

Embry didn't have time to respond before they arrived at their destination: the chemistry classroom on the far side of the school.

"It's fine, Jake," Embry murmured as Quil opened the door to the classroom.

"Ah, the terrible threesome returns," announced Mr. Johnson as Jacob, Quil and Embry walked in the room, "Take your seats. We can discuss your make up work afterward."

Mr. Johnson didn't even wait until they were seated before he started his lesson.

-&-

When Jacob returned home, he found Billy sitting at the table, a grim look on his face. The book he was reading was closed in front of him, his hands folded on top of it. The phone was placed right next to him. Between his expression, the phone, and everything that Jacob knew was going on with Charlie, Jacob's stomach dropped. He could guess what Billy was going to tell him.

"Hello, son," Billy greeted him, his voice solemn.

"Hey." Jacob dropped his backpack on the floor and immediately crossed the small main room to the kitchen cabinets and grabbing a pan and pulling out some eggs. His appreciation for eggs had grown substantially since he became a wolf; he now found them to be a suitable meal no matter the time of day. And bad news was bad news; he might as well have a full stomach to hear that his dad's best friend thought his daughter was dead.

"I just got off the phone with Charlie," Billy's voice was tense, "He's panicking."

"Did they tell him that Bella died?"

"No. Not yet. They told him that she's still in quarantine in Atlanta, but she's stable. No improvements. They're building up to it."

"What did you tell him?" Jacob focused on the frying pan, carefully breaking five eggs into the pan. They sizzled as they hit the pan.

"They're still claiming Bella is in quarantine in Atlanta. Sue managed to talk him out of flying to Atlanta," Billy sighed, "But now he's talking about driving out to the Cullen place tomorrow night, just to see it."

Jacob didn't respond. Charlie was a good guy; he didn't deserve any of this crap that Bella and her stupid bloodsuckers were putting him through.

"Bella is Charlie's only family," Billy said, "This will be a big blow to him. Only a few months after Harry died, too."

Jacob transferred the slightly runny eggs onto his plate. He took a seat across from where his father had parked his chair and reached for the pepper, sprinkling it on before taking a bite. He didn't respond to Billy. He didn't know what to say.

Billy continued awkwardly, "I'm so fortunate to have you and your sisters. No parent should have to outlive their child. I'm grateful every day for the three of you."

Jacob swallowed, "I'm grateful for you, too, Dad," he managed gruffly. Rarely had Billy been so emotional in front of him.

"Do you know how much longer it will be?" Jacob asked after several silent moments and several large bites.

"The legends say the transformation takes about three days." Jacob's stomach dropped.

"So tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow," Billy agreed. He waited for a few moments before speaking again, "Do you know what their plan is? What they're going to tell Charlie?"

"I have no idea," Jacob muttered.

"Are they going to leave after Bella… wakes up?" Billy struggled for the right words.

"Ask Seth," Jake pushed his food around on the plate, "He'd know their plans."

"Jacob, I know this is hard for you, too, son," Billy said, "I know she was – is – your best friend."

"Was," Jacob mumbled under his breath.

"I'm sorry?"

"Was my best friend. She's dead, Dad. It doesn't matter what the fucking leeches tell Charlie. I'll always know the truth. She died two days ago." Jacob was shaking. He couldn't even hold his fork, but it didn't matter. His appetite had vanished. His theory that it was better to have a full stomach for bad news was wrong; he felt sick. He stood up, dumping the remaining parts of his food in the trash and placing the plate in the sink.

"Jacob…"

"I'll be back later, Dad." Guilt washed over Jacob when he turned to see Billy's disappointed face, before adding, "I promise."

-&-

_How was school, children?_ Leah's condescending voice was not what Jacob wanted to hear when he phased the next afternoon, but it was what greeted him. Before he could reply, he felt Seth's presence join the link.

_It was great!_ Trust Seth to have a cheerful view on the day. As he filled his sister in on the details of his day, from the conversations he had with his friends to the pop quiz that he managed to ace in Spanish, he began running full speed ahead to the Cullen's.

Jacob had returned to his house the night before as he promised Billy, gone to bed at a reasonable hour (well, if one am could be considered a reasonable hour), gotten up the next morning, and gone to school. He'd sat through his classes, ate lunch with Quil and Embry, and generally gone through the motions. But all day he'd been looking forward to his planned running, maybe all the way to California, and taking time to let the wolf take over.

The problem is Leah and Seth seemed to have the same idea. The Clearwaters weren't as useless and annoying as Jacob had worried they would be, but they were still company, and Jacob wanted to be alone.

"Seth?" Carlisle was waiting for Seth. Through the bond, Jacob could see everything that Seth was seeing as if he was there himself. Though Jacob had avoided the Cullen house since he had gone to collect Seth on the very first day, it remained ever-present in his mind as the place where Bella took her last breaths. It didn't help that he saw it often through Seth's eyes.

"We think Bella is about to wake up." Carlisle glanced nervously back at the house, "Within the next hour or so, Alice thinks."

_Shit!_ Leah cursed. She took off running full speed ahead towards the bloodsucker's place, the forest blurring through her eyes as she did.

Seth's mind was a wordless jumble of emotions that Jacob couldn't quite comprehend. Nervousness, excitement, apprehension, hope.

_Billy thought this might happen. The legends say the transformation takes three days._ Jacob told the others, though he didn't move from the spot where he'd phased.

"We're planning on keeping Nessie from her until she feeds for the first time. Newborns have unbearable thirst, and – as you've seen – they can be wild." Carlisle paced back and forth, glancing nervously at the big white house.

Seth whined in response, his emotions shifting rapidly. It was hard to keep up, between Seth's cycling emotions and Leah's pure panic.

"Are you going to be human or wolf when you meet her, Seth?" Carlisle asked him, "I'm guessing they'll be home soon. You might want to phase, if you want to be human."

Seth trotted back behind the trees as if he was going to phase, but his mind wasn't made up. He was wavering between the safety of the wolf and the comfort of the human.

_Seth – wait!_ Leah cried. She began running at her full speed ahead towards the Cullen's place. Her vision was nothing but a dizzying blur of colors as she sprinted ahead, making Jacob dizzy as he watched. Leah really did have incredible speed.

It was too late, though, and Seth had already phased out.

_Fuck!_ Leah cursed, and impossibly, she sped up.

Without Seth's happy thoughts in the bond, it seemed almost bearable again. Leah was much better than him at staying quiet, and Jacob realized he didn't have to let this new development change anything. He certainly didn't want to see Bella in her new form. He made up his mind; he would head to California as planned.

_Jake! Where are you going?_ Leah cried. She could see the Cullen's white house by now, just through the trees and she had an eye on her brother, standing by Carlisle arms crossed, _You have to help me! You have to help me protect Seth!_

The desperation in Leah's voice surprised Jacob. She'd always been overprotective of her brother, Jacob had known that, but he didn't think she would ever resort to practically begging him to help her protect Seth.

_I can't see Bella like this, Leah. The Cullens won't hurt him._

Leah's mind was immediately filled with the images of the newborns they had encountered back in June. Her mind was rapidly cycling through both real of newborn bloodsuckers and imaginary images Seth getting attacked by a demon-looking Bella. He could feel the panic flooding through her system; her thoughts were rapidly spiraling into a full out war with the Cullens that ended with Seth getting killed by Sam.

_Breathe, Leah,_ Jake commanded.

Although Leah took a deep breath, and the vivid images faded, her mind was still full of panic, _You don't want Seth to get hurt, do you? The Cullens will listen to you, Jake. You have to help me._

_Stop! This is ridiculous. The Cullens know how to control newborn vampires. And they love Seth. He'll be fine._ Jacob didn't doubt it, not really. He couldn't imagine Bella going after Seth – who she'd always been so happy to see – just because she was now a monster herself. She wouldn't do that, would she?

_Fine,_ Leah seethed, _Too cowardly to see Bella Cullen as a vampire? She never loved you anyway._

Jacob couldn't pretend that Leah's words didn't sting. They hurt.

_Stop!_ In the middle of their disagreement, neither Jacob nor Leah heard Seth phase back in, _This is ridiculous. The Cullens know how to control newborn vampires. I'll be fine._

But with Seth's interruption, Jacob could feel Leah refocus on the issue at hand, and her panic return. And even more than that, Jacob could feel Seth's own nervousness. His memories of Jacob's injuries after the battle with the newborns came into his mind, and Seth wasn't confident in his fighting abilities. He was much smaller than Jacob and much less confident. He knew that. They all did.

_I'm coming,_ Jacob grumbled. He tried to keep his guilt hidden, but he knew Leah and Seth could feel it anyways.

"Seth, I thought you were going to meet Bella as a human," It was the blond bloodsucker who spoke this time. She wandered out towards the yard, standing there somewhat stupidly as she spoke to Seth, "She should really smell your blood as a human. If she can't handle your werewolf blood, then she definitely won't be able to handle Nessie's."

_I'm phasing back,_ Seth had changed his mind again, although he was still not convinced it was the safest move.

_You should stay as a wolf,_ Leah insisted, _It's safer that way._

_Nah, Rosalie's right, we smell so bad to them,_ Seth explained, _If she can't handle my werewolf blood, then she definitely won't be able to handle Nessie. So I'm going to phase._

_Don't be a fucking martyr, Seth,_ Jacob said. He was nearly there.

_I'll be fine, Jake, don't worry. The Cullens won't let anything happen to me. And you and Leah will be there to protect me, too._ Jacob could feel Seth's wavering confidence – his words weren't completely true – but he could also feel Seth's gratefulness that Jacob would be there, to protect him if he needed.

_Be careful, Seth,_ Leah begged.

_I'll be fine,_ He repeated. He was starting to believe it now.

One of the Cullens – Carlisle, probably – called for Seth, which all three heard through the bond. Without even saying goodbye, Seth phased out. Jacob was near the Cullen place by now, approaching slowly. He saw Leah from where she was standing, an appropriate distance away.

_Thank you, Jacob. I know this is hard for you. But it means a lot._ There was no menace in Leah's voice, _Thank you for helping keep my brother safe._

Jacob didn't know how to respond to that. You're welcome? He didn't want her to think that she could request these things and he'd come running every time.

_You won't have to come again,_ Leah promised him, her thoughts slightly bitter once again, _Next time you can stay away._

_Look, I don't want Seth to get hurt any more than you do_ Jacob conceded, _I'm just not sure how helpful I am here._

Leah didn't respond, but they both moved closer into the Cullen's yard, just barely at the edge of it, with easy access either way.

_They're coming,_ Leah snarled. She didn't need to tell Jacob that. The sickly scent of vampire flooded his senses and he could just make out Bella and Edward's conversation.

Jacob looked over to where Seth stood in his human form. He looked all of his fourteen years at that moment, seemingly terrified in his own skin.

"You'll be fine, kid," Emmett patted Seth's back, the sound echoing through the yard, "We won't let her get you."

Seth nodded. Leah stepped a bit closer, urging Jacob to follow her, which he did.

And from the trees, Edward emerged first, followed by Bella. Bella was… unrecognizable. Jacob couldn't see her face from where he stood, but he could tell she wasn't truly Bella. This new vampire seemed taller; her posture was straighter than Jacob had ever seen Bella's. Her hair was the same but beautifully styled, almost certainly by one of the female vamps. The dress she was wearing was torn in just the right places, and on any other girl, Jacob would have loved it. But the Bella Jacob knew would never have picked such a thing. And despite the tear, it was still in relatively good shape. His Bella would have never managed such a feat.

"Hi, Bella!" For all of Seth's nervousness, his greeting was enthusiastic and betrayed no fear.

Bella turned to him for the first time but did not lunge or even move towards him. Nevertheless, Leah moved slightly closer to her brother, teeth bore.

"Hi, Seth," Bella smiled. Her teeth were too white, too perfect, too pointy and sharp. Unrecognizable. Just like the rest of her, "Edward told me about your imprint, Seth. I think it's great. It's so nice that we'll all be a family. "

Jacob wondered if the ability to lie well was something all newborn vampires had or if Bella was telling the truth. When the human Bella lied, he could always see right through it.

"No, Jacob, she's telling the truth. She likes that it's a bridge from her old life to her new," Edward answered his thoughts and smiled at his wife, "That she'll get to keep some of her previous life with her."

_Disgusting,_ Leah gagged, _Fucking grossest thing I've heard all day. We are_ not _part of that disgusting pale face's previous life. We_ don't _belong to her._

Wisely, Edward didn't respond, although he did narrow his eyes while glaring at Leah.

"Thanks, Bella," Seth was positively beaming now, his previous apprehension seemingly melted away.

Bella turned to face Jacob for the first time, and he could see the difference in her face. Everything was perfectly symmetrical, like some sort of unnatural computer-generated model. She had always been beautiful, but now, she was objectively gorgeous. Anyone would say so. But it wasn't the same type of beauty. It was too perfect, too flawless, too unnatural. She wasn't Bella.

"Jake, I'm so glad you're here." Bella's new voice was sugar sweet and sing-songy and sounded completely different from her old. If it had played on a recording, Jacob wasn't sure he would have known that it was that of the woman he loved. She stepped towards Jacob, tentatively holding her hand out as if she was going to pet him.

Instinctively, he jumped back, a small growl escaping him.

Surprisingly, Leah mirrored Jacob's growl, although it didn't really match. It was far fiercer than Jacob's growl at been, far tougher.

_Don't touch him!_ She snarled, almost protectively. Despite not hearing the words, Leah's intentions were clear. Bella stepped back, looking slightly hurt. Edward's arm wrapped around her protectively.

"I'm – I'm sorry," Bella said, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not sure it's a good time to talk to Jacob right now, love," Edward told his wife, "Don't you want to meet Renesmee anyways?"

At the mention of the spawn, Bella's face lit up.

"Oh yes!"

"She's been asking for you," Edward told her encouragingly. The happy couple began to walk towards the house, all members of their family following them. Seth stayed behind for just a moment to look back at the two members of their renegade pack, before he joined the procession, as well. Everyone was too enthralled with watching Bella reunite with her daughter that had killed her to notice that Jacob and Leah were still standing there.

Jacob turned around, back to the forest. He'd seen enough. Bella was gone, and this time, it was permanent. There was no chance that she would change her mind or come back. This time, she was really gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we have it! Jacob met the new Bella! We also saw protective!Leah and angsty!Jacob and Quil and Embry and Bella (Quil and Embry we will see a lot more of. Bella? Not so much). 
> 
> These chapters just get longer and longer and there’s still so much I want to cover so I really promise that time will speed up there’s just a lot here in the beginning. 
> 
> Also has anyone started Midnight Sun? I’m only about 100 pages in between work and volunteering and everything else in life so I don’t really have an opinion yet but I want to hear everyone else’s haha. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading! Please let me know your thoughts!


	4. Chapter Four

"No, sir, I assure you that all of the sheets are made from all organic cotton," Leah spoke into the front desk's phone, twirling the cord around her finger. Her free hand doodled on the piece of paper as she spoke.

Truthfully, Leah had no idea whether or not the sheets were made from all organic cotton. If she had to guess, she would say they probably weren't, but she wasn't sure how that information would help the angry man on the phone. The resort, despite its name, was no Hilton or even Holiday Inn. The man continued his spiel about how he could tell the difference between organic cotton and how La Push Resort and Spa was only using the cheap stuff.

As the man continued his spiel about how he could tell the difference between organic cotton and regular cotton and how La Push Resort and Spa was only using the cheap stuff, Leah glanced at the clock. 11:43. Seventeen minutes till her shift was over. Seventeen minutes till she could go home and nap.

Leah took a deep calming breath before answering, "I'd be happy to patch you through to the head of housekeeping, if you'd like to speak with them."

She had her finger on the transfer button before the man even confirmed that he'd like to speak with a manager, "I'll transfer you now, sir."

In hindsight, she probably shouldn't be working in customer service. Jacob had gotten quite the laugh when she told him she'd gotten a job at the resort. He didn't believe anyone would be stupid enough to hire her for a customer service job, although she had worked at the general store back in high school with no problems. Of course, that was before her boyfriend left her for her cousin and she'd exploded into a giant wolf, causing the death of her father. But it seemed that Amy was more or less the one in charge of hiring for the front desk, and neither Amy nor the general manager bothered to give her an interview. La Push was the only place in the world that the Clearwater name came with any type of status.

Sue couldn't be more pleased that Leah had gone out and gotten a job, and since it was at a tribe-owned business, if something came up and she had to go battle vampires or whatever evil, twisted thing that came their way, both Billy and her mom assured her that they would, as Elders, put a lot of pressure on the manager, Mr. Keyo, not to fire her.

11:51. Only nine more minutes now. It would take Leah approximately eighteen minutes to walk home if she walked at a brisk, but still human, speed. So only twenty-seven minutes till she would be home. All she needed was for nobody else to come in.

Of course, that wouldn't be her luck. The automatic doors swung open as soon as she started to grab her bag from where she had stuffed it under the desk.

"Hello, Leah," Billy was rolling into the lobby as Leah began to pick up her stuff. She didn't bother hiding what she was doing; she knew Billy wouldn't care that she was eager to get out of there.

"Hey, Billy," Leah greeted him, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm meeting Old Quil for lunch. I bet him lunch at our last poker game, and he lost," Billy grinned as he rolled closer to the front desk, "Your shift almost over?"

"Seven more minutes."

"You liking working here?" Billy asked, gesturing around at the empty lobby.

"Yeah, it's good. I mean, this is only my third shift but so far it's been good." It wasn't even a lie. Leah mostly worked alone and had the early morning shift where people were less likely to ask her stupid questions. It was close to home and paid slightly more than minimum wage. Not a bad gig, overall.

"Good," Billy nodded, starting to roll away towards the restaurant on the other side of the lobby. He suddenly turned back, though, and looked at Leah, "Have you heard from Jake lately? He didn't come home last night."

"He didn't?"

Jake had taken off as soon as Bella had tried to pet him, but Leah had stayed around to make sure Bella didn't go after Seth. But Bella was surprisingly well controlled for a leech, and Seth made it home alive with no scratches and no trauma. The only person Bella had tried to assault was Emmett after she realized that he'd come up with the nickname Nessie. Served her right for disgracing her daughter with such a horrendous name. Emmett made the right call on that one.

"If he did he was gone when I woke up 5:30." Both of them knew that there was no circumstance in this universe under which Jacob would wake up that early.

"I haven't gotten the chance to speak with him since last night," Leah frowned slightly, "He was still running when Seth and I went home."

"Canada again?" Billy sounded tired.

"California, this time, actually," Leah told him, "I'm sure he'll come back soon."

"Did he see her yesterday?" Billy asked, "Bella?"

"Yeah, he did. It wasn't great."

"No, I'd imagine not. It's hard enough to see the body of someone you love after they've died." Billy looked around the lobby, and seeing it was empty, continued quietly, "I imagine that a reanimation of that corpse could only hurt even more. For her to go through with something so unnatural, so wicked… it's truly a horrible fate."

Leah just nodded, unsure of what to say. Bella was always going to do whatever she wanted to do; she'd always have picked the bloodsucker path. Was it stupid? Hell yeah. But it was also her choice. Leah didn't see the point in mourning someone who made a choice, even if it was an unfathomable one.

Mr. Keyo came in from the back office then, at the same time Old Quil came pattering through the front door; all three men greeted each other enthusiastically. Billy rolled over to the restaurant and Mr. Keyo followed after assuring Leah that she could leave the desk empty for a few minutes, and he'd be there right after he spoke with the other men.

The walk to the Clearwater's house was short, but it went past most of the businesses on the reservation. The Ateara's small store, the Cameron's restaurant, the Sierra's gas station, all of the three little businesses that catered both to tourists and residents of the reservation. The only one it missed was the tiny souvenir shop on First Beach.

Leah made it home in good time, unlocking the front door and letting it slam behind her with a sigh. There was a faint hint of that sickly sweet scent that she was sure she'd never fully escape now.

"Leah? Is that you?" Sue called from upstairs.

"No, Mom, it's Seth," Leah rolled her eyes. It was just after noon on a Thursday. Who else would it be? "Yes, it's me!"

"What now, Leah?"

"I was just saying that it was me," Leah muttered as Sue appeared from down the stairs, dressed in her scrubs and her tennis shoes.

"How was work?"

"It was fine." Leah couldn't escape her mother's troubled eyes, "You don't have to worry about me, Mom. I didn't yell at anyone and I didn't beat anyone up."

"I'm your mom. It's my job to worry about you. But I'm glad to hear you didn't yell at anyone or beat anyone up." Sue smiled at her, looking marginally more relaxed. Leah was pretty sure that her mother considered every day that Leah kept her job and didn't lose her temper a success.

"I doubt you'll be able to say the same after your shift today," Leah muttered under her breath.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that."

The Clearwater's ringing phone didn't stop Sue from swatting at her daughter. They both knew it was true. Sue Clearwater was the type of no-nonsense nurse they put on patients who were refusing to take their drugs or keep trying to unplug themselves, not the type of nurse they assign to patients who are on their deathbeds.

"I'll get it, it's probably Charlie again," Sue sighed, "Hello?"

The surprised look on Sue's face told Leah that it wasn't Charlie on the phone, "Oh, hello, Emily? How are you doing? Wedding preparations going well?"

Straining to listen, Leah could hear every word her cousin said. She happily told Sue about the wedding and some recipe or another that she'd tried, and for several minutes, the two conversed pleasantly. To an outsider, it would sound like a perfectly normal conversation between aunt and niece. And then Emily asked about Leah and if she was around.

Leah shook her head and made face, making it clear that she didn't want to speak with Emily. But Sue made a face and spoke anyways "Leah's right here, Emily. I'll put you on. It was great to speak with you!"

"Hi, Emily," she choked out the words after Sue pushed the phone at her.

"Hi, Leah!" Emily's voice was chipper as ever, "How are you doing?"

"Ah, you know, I'm doing alright. How about you?" Leah struggled to keep her tone civil and even, but she managed it, mostly. It only sounded a little forced.

"I'm doing well, thanks for asking!" Emily paused for a second, "So I know your life is a little crazy right now but I didn't know if maybe you had time today or tomorrow to go bridesmaid dress shopping?"

Leah was free for the rest of the day, although she worked tomorrow. She had planned on napping and maybe running around while Jake and Seth were at school and unable to invade her mental solitude.

As her mind struggled for an excuse, Emily spoke again, "And if you're not free today or tomorrow, then maybe next week?"

"No, today will work," Leah admitted reluctantly. It was clear that there would be no escaping this.

"Great!" Leah could hear the excitement in Emily's voice, "I can pick you up in an hour or so?"

Leah glanced over at the clock. She still wanted to shower and maybe even nap and eat lunch, "Make it two hours?"

"Whatever works! I'll see you then, Leah!"

"See you," Leah muttered, hitting the end call button as quickly as she could and turning to her mother, "Really, Mom?"

"You and Emily need to work on your relationship," Sue shrugged, "She's family. And you were right there. I wasn't going to lie to her."

Leah narrowed her eyes, "She was always your favorite child."

"I don't have a favorite child. And Emily is not my child," Sue smiled at her, "I love you and Seth equally. You know that. Now I have to go to work. Please be nice to your cousin."

"Sure, sure."

As Sue walked by and grabbed her purse, she kissed Leah on the forehead, "I love you, Leah. You'll always be my favorite daughter."

-&-

Emily was too polite to honk her horn, but Leah could hear her footsteps coming up the driveway long before she made it to the door. Desperate to avoid getting trapped into inviting Emily in, Leah sprinted down the stairs, grabbed her bag, and made it out the front door just before Emily reached the door.

"Leah!" Emily squealed, reaching out for a hug.

"Hi, Emily." Leah sidestepped the hug and continued walking towards Emily's car, "Are we going to Port Angeles?"

"Yeah, Port Angeles," Emily hurried to catch up with her, "We're meeting Kim there, after her class."

They climbed into the car wordlessly, and Emily began to drive the familiar route to Port Angeles. Leah knew Emily well enough to know that she was struggling with the awkwardness that had settled between them. Emily, naturally cheery, had never done well with silence.

"So did you see the new episode of Grey's Anatomy?" Emily asked suddenly.

"Yes." Leah pursed her lips.

"And?" Emily prompted, "What did you think?"

"He should have left Addison a while ago. And I didn't like Denny so I don't care that he died and Izzy is a whiny little bitch," Leah said it all in one breath, desperate to get it all out. Even scary female werewolves were allowed guilty pleasures, and Grey's Anatomy was Leah's.

"Thank you!" Emily cried out, waving her hands wildly, "That's exactly what I was saying! I don't know why everyone liked Izzy so much – so what that she's leaving?"

"Exactly! Stupid blonde bitch."

Jacob and Seth would absolutely destroy her if they knew she spent her time watching Grey's Anatomy. Well, Jacob would. Seth would probably not, but he'd still tease her about it at every opportunity he got. Leah had never seen Sue operate the TV in her life, and therefore, she had nobody to discuss Grey's Anatomy or any other television show with. And Emily had lots of thoughts on it, some that Leah agreed with, and some that she did not, so it made for an easy, safe topic of discussion between the two.

Unfortunately, Emily's cheery nature simply made her a hard person to hate, and spending time with her only reminded Leah of all the reasons she had once considered Emily her best friend. Her cheerful attitude was contagious, and Emily was careful and considerate enough to steer the conversation away from Sam.

The conversation flowed between them much more easily than Leah had expected, even after they moved away from Meredith and McDreamy. They gossiped about their older cousins – Candace was getting a divorce, despite only being married for six months – and their lives outside of the res. It felt almost like old times. Almost. Sam could never stop hanging over them, forever a shadow on their relationship, the perennial elephant in the room.

With Grey's Anatomy and the gossip about family members back in Makah, the drive flew by. Before Leah knew it, Emily was slowing her old hatchback down and turning into the narrow streets of Port Angeles.

Emily parked a few blocks away from the store and Leah followed her wordlessly through the streets. They made a conspicuous pair, the two of them. Between Emily's scarred face and Leah's height, everyone they passed seemed to give them room.

They stopped in front of the boutique, only down the road the yoga studio that Leah had already given up on. Emily plopped herself down on one of the wooden benches lining the street and Leah followed her lead.

"What color dress are you thinking of?" Leah asked. It was the first time all day either of them had mentioned the reason for their meeting.

"Black," Emily replied, "I think it should go well with everyone. And that way people can reuse the dress if they want."

Leah half expected Emily to pick some hideous shade of orange or yellow just to screw all the bridesmaids over. But black was sensible, practical. Like Emily herself.

"There's Kim!" Emily called, waving at the dark-skinned girl who had just appeared across the corner. Kim waved back and hurried across the street, barely making it before the light changed. Leah lingered on the bench as Emily shot up, not eager to see Jared's imprint.

"Hi, Emily," Kim gave Emily a short hug before turning to Leah, and saying much more shyly, "Hi, Leah."

"Hi, Kim."

"Are we ready?" Emily was positively buzzing with excitement, "Let's go!"

She pushed her way through the doors, dashing to the front reception desk. Kim and Leah followed, neither with even an ounce of the excitement that Emily had. As Emily explained what she wanted and why she was there, Leah and Kim stayed back.

"How was class, Kim?" Leah's voice was oddly formal, even to her. Like she was talking to a stranger or a long-forgotten acquaintance.

"Oh, it was good, very interesting. I'm taking a nutrition class this semester. It's very informative. I like it a lot." Kim's shy smile matched her pleasant manner.

"And what are you majoring in?" Leah asked politely, her tone still stiff and unfamiliar. She didn't really care what Kim was studying, but the silence was just too awkward.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm just taking some prereqs right now, just general education type classes. Then maybe in a few years Jared and I can go away somewhere," Kim beamed at Leah, the same stupid content look all imprints had, "How are you liking working on at the resort? Amy told me you were hired there."

"So far, so good."

"I think Amy's glad to have you, to have a coworker her age," Kim told Leah, "She got lonely when it was just the teenage girls this summer. They were all friends and still in high school. Amy was the only one who had graduated."

"Are you girls ready?" Emily called to them, motioning them to follow her and the saleswomen. They were led through the store, with rows of dresses on either side. Leah and Kim both introduced themselves to the saleswomen as she sat them down on a plush couch. This place looked expensive. Did Emily think Leah had cash to spare on her stupid wedding?

"So you're looking for black dresses?" the saleswomen asked.

Emily nodded, "Yes. Sam – my fiancé – is going to wear a grey tux so it should go well together, I think."

Leah felt her stomach drop at the mention of Sam's name.

"Great!" The saleswoman launched into a spiel about the various dress types, and Emily told her more about the bridal party. The saleswomen went to go get some samples and bring them some ideas, but Leah barely registered the conversation, her mind still spinning from the mention of Sam's name. It was like the mention of Sam's name it had snapped it all into place, and it had all become real. A familiar shiver overtook Leah's body.

"I… I can't do this," Leah said suddenly, "I'm sorry Emily, but I can't do this."

Emily spun around, looking at her cousin carefully. Leah could feel her eyes appraising her, getting slightly wider at the noticeable tremble in her hands.

"You don't really need me, you have Kim." Emily hadn't asked and Leah didn't know why she said it.

"Yes, but Leah - " Emily started.

"Let her go, Emily," Kim said in her quiet voice. Leah could feel Kim's eyes on her, having noticed the shaking long before Emily, "We can figure out whatever we need to do."

Emily nodded slowly, her eyes still on Leah's shaking hands, "I'm sorry, Leah. I shouldn't have asked you to come."

"It's fine." It clearly wasn't, but it seemed like the thing to say.

"I'll see you soon?" Emily asked hopefully.

"I'll see you later," Leah muttered, grabbing her bag and stalking out. It was everything she could do to keep from running, to keep her pace human and not look like she was storming out. She wanted to leave peacefully, to make it seem like she was mature enough to handle all this crap like an adult and not some whiny bitch that the pack knew her to be. Sure, she knew Emily and Kim had probably both heard how horrible she could be from Sam and Jared, but she had wanted to at least act nicely around them and prove them wrong. But like so much in her life lately, it didn't work out.

She had been fine. She really had been. Earlier this morning and yesterday and really ever since she left Sam's pack, she'd mostly avoided thinking about Sam, except when Jacob dragged her along to go meet with him. But then Emily had been so happy, so exuberant and even though Leah had never once thought she'd be the type of girl to force her friends into fancy dresses for her wedding, jealousy raged through her system.

Even worse, now she could never be that girl who was overly obsessed with her own wedding. She'd never find anyone to marry with her stupid short hair and her incapacity to stay calm enough to have a rational discussion and her tendency disappear at all hours of the night for some stupid job she'd never be able to fully explain and her inability to have children. Before her life imploded and she joined the ranks of some stupidly secret society, she had thought she'd eventually meet someone and do all those things, even though he wouldn't be Sam. But now, there was no chance for that.

Without actively thinking about it, her feet had led her to the edge of the forest that ran all the way to La Push. So for the second time that week, she'd run as a wolf back home. Leah was shaking hard now, making it difficult to slip off her clothes and save her last cute dress from a certain death.

She felt the rush of air around her as her front paws hit the dirt with a thud.

_Leah?_ Jacob questioned as soon as she phased in, _Are you okay?_

_Leave me alone,_ Leah snarled. She tried to hide her watering eyes – not that it was very effective but it was something – from Jacob.

_I'm somewhere in Oregon, Leah. Remember our agreement? We'd stay out of each other's heads._ Jacob was calmer than Leah expected him to be, though she wasn't stupid enough to assume he'd stay like that.

_Fine._ Of course, the bond didn't fully work like that. Not when Leah's emotions were running so high. They could more or less stay out when they both were calm and able to let go of things, but not while one of them was ruminating. And while Jacob was peaceful enough to let his thoughts wander without overwhelming Leah, Leah was ruminating. She tried focusing her energy on the store and the ride with Emily, trying to keep the worst of it out of her head. No privacy in the bond meant her thoughts had to be actively somewhere else unless she wanted Jacob to know all her secrets. And she didn't need him knowing about her despair at her love life. She didn't want him to know that it went beyond just wanting Sam.

_You went dress shopping with Emily?_ Jacob's words cut through Leah's thoughts, interrupting her memory of the dress store and Emily's happy face. _Do you like to live a life of pain or something?_

_I thought we agreed to keep to ourselves._

_Sorry,_ Jacob was apologetic, but Leah could feel his curiosity creeping in. He was genuinely sorry, but he was also desperate to know what had possessed Leah to go dress shopping.

_Why are you off in Oregon anyways?_ Leah deflected, changing her focus to her shift at the resort earlier that day, _You know I saw your dad today. He's worried about you. Would it kill you to spend a few days at home? Just a few? You'd feel better about your life if you didn't spend all your time moping around in the forest. And there's no point in running away over a dead girl who never loved you anyway. Might as well get on with your life._ Leah couldn't help herself. Her words were biting and she could feel Jake recoil in the bond.

_It's complicated, Leah._ There was no kindness or curiosity in his tone now.

_It's not complicated, Jacob. Just go home and live your fucking life and see your fucking dad while you still have one!_

_I have a dead parent, too, you know,_ Jacob seethed. The anger that Jacob had kept at bay came flooding in, overwhelming their group mind.

Sarah Black was dead and had been dead for much longer than Harry Clearwater. Leah wasn't sure how she'd managed to forget that one while she was chiding Jacob. The glaring omission caused both her and Jacob to shut up. Images began cycling through the link in rapid succession. She could see the image of his mother's coffin in his mind, while she was thinking of Harry's shocked face, the very first thing she saw after she phased. The horror of realizing that there was something seriously wrong with Harry; that the shock had caused him to have a heart attack. Charlie squatting down to Jacob's level to tell him that his mom wasn't coming home. Sam sympathetically telling her that she'd missed the funeral. It was all a mess.

_I'll phase out._ Jacob announced. His voice was diplomatic but resigned. Leah could feel him taking purposeful breaths, working to calm himself and she knew he'd seen every image that she had just pictured, seen every thought she'd just had. _I'll phase out and give you enough time to run home in peace._

She didn't respond before he left, leaving the bond with the stark emptiness. Leah started running at full speed, all the way back to La Push. Humans didn't know how lucky they were to live their lives without others constantly barging in.

-&-

An incessant knocking woke Leah from a slumber deep enough that she had convinced herself it was all part of a dream. Yet, when the sound didn't end despite opening the front door and letting a scarless Emily in to talk to Sarah Black, Leah knew it was real life. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her eyes to find Jacob sitting on the edge of the roof, tapping against her window.

"What the fuck, Jacob?" Leah swore as she unlocked the window.

"Can I come in?" He was already halfway through the window, right foot lounging on her bed.

"Do I have the option to deny you, oh fearless leader?" she fumed, "It's the middle of the night. What the fuck is this about?"

"Quil and Embry want to join the pack," Jacob said as he shut the window behind him. His tone made it sound like he was discussing something as simple as the weather at a reasonable hour of the day, "When I went back to school – just like you told me to – they found me and told me they've discussed it and they want to join our pack."

"And you decided you need to talk to me about it?" Leah grumbled and glanced at her clock, "At three in the morning?"

"Couldn't sleep," Jake shrugged, "And Seth would just tell me to let them in. But I'm not sure."

Apparently, they were doing this, having this discussion. Right now. At three o'clock in the morning. Leah groaned but sat up and flicked her tableside light on.

"They're your best friends, Jake. What are you not sure about?" She wasn't entirely sure why she was humoring him. Maybe the exhaustion had finally gotten to her. The wolf thing had finally driven her insane, and now she was allowing sixteen-year-old boys to climb through the window at all hours of the night.

"I didn't want a pack, Leah, I just wanted to run away."

"Well that's too freaking bad, isn't it? You got a pack now."

"I was planning on forcing Seth back to Sam's pack, you know? And you promised you wouldn't bug me," he reminded her.

"You were also planning on running away from all your problems. And this is what? Like the fourth night this week you've spent on the reservation," Leah pointed out icily, "So maybe it's time to admit that your plans didn't turn out. Plans rarely do. Mine didn't."

"Enough with the self-pity. Both our lives suck."

Jacob's remarks were sharp enough that it scared them both into silence for several minutes. Jake made no move to leave though, so Leah sat back and mentally prepared herself for a long night. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Do not kill the Alpha wolf, even if he deserved it.

"So should I let them in or not?" Jacob asked her suddenly after several minutes had passed.

"I don't know, Jake. Why are you asking me this?"

"I don't want to run a dictatorship. This feels like an important decision that I should consult the other members of the pack about."

"So you're going to wake up Seth, too? This is just great. A slumber party with my brother and his friend."

"We both know that Seth would let them in without a second thought. So it's just you and me," Jacob sighed, ignoring her harsh tone, "And you're the Beta, so you should definitely get a say."

"I'm the Beta?" Leah didn't manage to hide the surprise in her voice, all animosity gone.

"I mean you met Sam and Jared with me. And talked to the Elders. And Jared is Sam's Beta, so I guess that makes you mine. You've been doing all the work for it," Jacob shrugged, "Seth's a good kid, but he's just that, a kid. And he's too biased towards the damn vamps."

"And what about if you let Quil and Embry in? Am I just Beta until Quil and Embry join?" She didn't dare get her hopes up.

"Does that impact your thoughts on whether or not they should join?" His voice was friendly.

"Well, yes, actually," Leah's tone was light, but she was only half-joking. If she was going to be at the bottom of the hierarchy in a pack with four teenagers, she needed to know, "I can't give up the only power I've had in months."

"Nah, you'll still be Beta whether or not they join." It was clear to Leah that Jake had thought this through, considered this very scenario. The confidence in his voice left no room for doubt, "They were too chicken to leave Sam's pack till they knew it would be safe. No loyalty whatsoever."

"I didn't leave Sam's pack out of loyalty to you," Leah reminded him.

"I know that," Jake grumbled, "But you still left. You've been here longer. You've still been doing the work. You can stay Beta even if we let them in. The three of them can all fight to be third."

"Just let them join, Jake." It hadn't really been anything Leah had to consider, especially not after Jacob said that she'd still be Beta. The fewer people under Sam's influence the better. And if Quil and Embry joined, there would be more people to run patrols and less work for her to do, "They're your best friends."

Leah's friendships had mostly dissipated in the aftermath of her life imploding. They had either escaped the reservation and the horrors of supernatural life through marriage (Rebecca) or through college (Lizzie) or they'd been sucked into the supernatural fold through imprinting (Rachel and Emily), which seemed to take the choice away just as much as exploding into a wolf did. But Jacob didn't have to meet the same fate. Sure, all of his friends might be werewolves, but they could still be his friends.

Jake nodded, seemingly in agreement, "Yeah, I guess I'll let them in."

A few moments passed in silence, but Jacob made no move to leave. Finally, Leah spoke, "Did you go home and see Billy?"

"See, you're already nagging me. You'll be a great Beta." Jacob smiled at her. He'd always had a nice smile, a pleasant one. She just hadn't seen it in so long.

Leah rolled her eyes at him, "Did you?"

"Yes, Leah, I did. I went home and had dinner with Billy and Rachel. Paul even stopped by and I didn't even kill him."

"Wow, I'm so proud of you!"

"Did you kill Emily?" he asked derisively.

"I think you would have heard if I killed that asshole's precious imprint."

"True." Jacob paused for a second, "I think you'd cause a war if you did that. Please don't kill Emily, Leah."

"Well, there goes my plans for tomorrow…" Leah sighed. It had been nearly thirty minutes since Jacob had woken her up, and she had work tomorrow – today, really – at six. Long nights on patrol had meant that she'd gotten used to operating with very little sleep, but it didn't mean she had to enjoy it. "Did you want anything else, oh fearless leader? Or can I go back to sleep yet?"

Jacob smiled up at her, "Well, loyal Beta, I need you to write my English paper for me. It's due on Friday."

"Very funny."

"If we're being serious, then, no, I don't need anything else," Jacob admitted.

"Great. Jake?"

"Yeah, Leah?"

"Get out of my room!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has left reviews. They really mean the world to me and they make so ridiculously happy. I tried to reach out to everyone individually too, but just in case I missed someone or whatever, I wanted to say thank you. So thank you so much, it's really a wonderful feeling to get those review emails.
> 
> So, for this chapter, I had to Google both popular TV shows in 2006 and I couldn't believe that Grey's Anatomy came on that long ago because it was still a thing like last year I swear? I don't know but anyways I only watched that show once and it was probably like a good five years ago now so if some of Leah's analysis didn't make sense, that's on me and not Leah because I had to look up what happened and try to remember it, and I may have missed the mark. 
> 
> The scene with Emily took me a lot of writing and re-writing but I think I finally got it to where I wanted it (well I posted it, so I guess it is what it is now). Stephanie Meyer doesn't give us a lot to go on based other than Jacob's line: "she's putting on a brave face. She's going to be a bridesmaid" but obviously Leah would be in a lot of pain so it took a while for me to get the dynamic that I wanted between the two of them. Always interested to hear any feedback!
> 
> Also, I have read seven, yes seven, more pages of Midnight Sun since I posted last week. So that's my feelings on it, really. Whiny Edward is just not the quarantine vibe I'm going for. I did, however, watch New Moon since it's on the free Roku channel this week. 
> 
> As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter! I tend to write long author notes because I'm a rambler and I like reading rambling author's notes but please don't ever feel obligated to read these as I will almost never say anything important in them. May my rambling be my biggest character flaw (it's definitely not).


	5. Chapter Five

Captain Crunch, the peanut butter type, was just not as good as Captain Crunch with berries. Or Lucky Charms. Or Frosted Flakes. Or just about any other type of cereal out there that wasn't marketed as a health food. Unfortunately for Jacob, the only type of cereal left in the Black's cabinet was peanut butter Captain Crunch. Sue had bought them several boxes of cereal, but they had all vanished. And while Jacob wished he could blame it all on Paul (and some of them were definitely Paul's doing), Jacob had managed to work his way through a couple of them himself.

It was Saturday, and he'd finally gotten a chance to sleep in. Although it wasn't really sleeping in, not really, not when Rachel and Billy had woken him up at eight am with some type of loud argument about Rebecca not coming home. Rachel felt strongly (and Jacob was inclined to agree) that Rebecca could never come back, not till they could be certain that a wolf wouldn't imprint on her. It was one thing to interrupt Rachel's future plans; it was another to destroy Rebecca's marriage. Billy, of course, didn't see it that way. Jacob thought it was all stupid since as far as he knew, Rebecca had no plans to visit anytime soon. But Rachel was gone when he made his way to the small main room to get his morning cereal, and Billy's face made it clear that he didn't want to talk about it.

"Hello, Charlie!" Billy's booming voice was gruff and he didn't wait for an answer before continuing, "It looks good for fishing today! Old Quil offered to let us borrow his boat, do you want to take it out? We're getting a late start but if we head out in the next hour or so, I think if we go far enough out we could still catch some. And if not there's plenty in the freezer! Sue said she'd cook it up after work."

From the other side of the line, Jacob could hear Billy's response clear as day, "It's nice of you to offer, Billy, but I think I'm going to go over to the Cullen's. I want to see if they're home. It just doesn't seem right. Their stories aren't making sense. I need to see if they're there."

"Charlie, don't do anything stupid," Billy's voice was calm but strained. Frantically, he pointed at Jacob.

"Do something!" He mouthed.

Numbly, Jacob stood up. His mind was racing at 500 miles an hour, as various plans entered and exited his mind. None of them were any good, and none of them would fool Charlie.

"Go, Jacob! Stop Charlie!" Billy hissed.

Jacob didn't bother to slip on any shoes as he hurried outside, thankful that his house was so close to the woods. He pulled off his shirt, tossing it on the small table as he ran out.

"Hey, Jacob," Paul was heading up to the stairs to the house, "Where are you going?"

"Can't talk now," he said as he ran past Paul towards the forest, "Rachel's gone anyways!"

He heard Paul call after him in confusion, but he didn't stop. Paul was hopefully smart enough to realize that Jacob was on a mission. And if not, then surely Billy would tell him if he made it all the way inside. Once in the safety of the trees, he tied his jean pants around his leg and willed his body to morph into a wolf.

_Charlie's going to the Cullen's,_ he announced as soon as he phased. He wasn't even sure anyone else was a wolf. Immediately, though, he heard Leah's mind start racing.

_Did they say something to him?_ Leah demanded. Leah had only a smidgen more patience with Charlie than she did Bella; she hated Bella, but she could tolerate Charlie, if only because he had been Harry's friend.

_No. But that's why he's going. He knows something's off and he wants to investigate. Billy told me to stop him._

It was then that Jacob saw Quil and Embry, walking as humans towards the Black's house. Fuck. They were supposed to officially join the pack today. In the panic over Charlie, Jacob had managed to forget about _that_ particular Saturday morning plan.

_Leah, can you please go deal with Quil and Embry? They're heading to my house now to officially join the pack… probably better that you do it, anyways. I don't know how to switch allegiances._ Jacob could hear his two friends calling out his name as he ran past them, yelling playful insults and demanding to know what he was doing. Before he even finished the thought, Leah had turned around, now running towards their spot in the woods. She'd never admit it aloud, or even with words, but Jacob could see the truth: she was reveling in doing her duty as Beta.

Leah pushed all thoughts of her position of Beta out of her mind, embarrassed at being caught, and focused on the one thing she was always known to fuss about: her brother.

_We need to warn Seth._

_Where is he?_

_At the bloodsuckers, of course._ Leah let out a low howl that would be impossible to hear with human ears, but that Seth and the leeches would pick up with ease. _Seth said they might leave if Charlie doesn't stop asking questions. And Jake, I hate those fucking bloodsuckers with all my heart but I don't want to know what would happen to Seth if they left._

_I won't let him get that far,_ Jacob promised. _Or if I do I'll make sure he knows the truth,_ he added, thinking of Bella's plan to let Charlie make his own conclusions.

_Jacob,_ Leah asked, disapproving of Bella's plan and with limited patience with Jacob's lack of ideas, _do you have any type of plan?_

His mind went to all the possibilities he'd thought of so far, from faking some type of emergency to just telling him the truth, or at least, part of the truth.

_No,_ he admitted.

_Just don't do anything stupid._

_Hi guys!_ Seth had phased in, _You howled?_

_Charlie's heading over to the Cullen's place,_ Leah told her brother.

_Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no._ Behind the words, Jacob could feel the chant that defined Seth's life: Nessie, Nessie, Nessie.

_Don't panic yet, Seth – I'm going to try to intercept him._

_It'll be fine, Seth. Jake will stop him._

From Leah's eyes, he could see that Leah had arrived at Quil and Embry's location, by Jacob's house. Neither had moved and both were still standing around, looking confused. Leah's arrival was met with enthusiastic yells from the two of them.

_Later, children. Go save Charlie or whatever._ With a whoosh, Leah was gone.

_They're going to have to leave if Charlie comes, Jake. I can't let them leave. I can't be that far from Nessie. And Mom and Leah would never let me go with them!_

_I'll figure it out, Seth. Don't worry. I won't let Charlie get that far._

_Bella wants to see Charlie again. Apparently, she has some type of super self-control and she thinks it might be safe,_ Seth mused, _She said maybe they could let them make his own guesses as to what happened._

_I thought those evil Italian vampires or whatever would kill any human who knows about vampire's existence._

_But if it's just a guess, then maybe they'd spare him. He might guess wrong._ Seth was never anything but an optimist. _Maybe you could give him a false idea…_

_A false idea? Like what?_

_Maybe suggest radioactive spiders bit them,_ Seth suggested. _That's what Bella told me her first guess one._

Jacob burst out laughing at that idea. _I'll think of something, Seth, promise. Now I gotta go._

From the top of the hill, Jacob could see Charlie's patrol car rounding the curve. Jacob began running full speed to the side of the road, just a minute or so ahead of where

In the beginning, phasing back to human took focus and time. Now, in seconds, Jacob was naked in the forest. He kicked his clothes free, just jean cutoffs, and slipped them on. And then he stepped onto the road.

Just as he thought, Charlie's patrol car rounded the corner three seconds later.

Jacob waved his hands frantically, and Charlie slowed the car down to a stop. He pulled over the side of the road and rolled down his window.

"Jacob? What are you doing here? Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Charlie's voice was full of concern, "What is it with you and your friends and never wearing shirts? Every time I'm down on the reservation, there's a whole bunch of you without shirts. I've never understood it."

"Never mind that, Charlie. Do you mind letting me ride with you?"

Charlie eyed Jacob warily, but nodded and unlocked the car door.

"Billy told me you were going to the Cullen's place," Jacob stated as he slid into the passenger seat of the patrol car.

"Billy told you about that?" Charlie turned towards Jacob, looking suspicious, "How did you get here so fast?"

"I, uh, ran. I was out on a run and Billy called me and so I ran to come to catch you," Jacob fibbed, "Luckily I was in the area."

"How did Billy call you?"

"I'm borrowing Rachel's cellphone," Jacob said as smoothly as possible. Rachel didn't have a cell phone and based on the look on Charlie's face, he knew that. But still, Jacob continued, "Yeah, Billy wanted me to take it with me and see what type of reception I got out here in the middle of the woods. So Rachel would know if it was safe to come out here with just her phone."

"Right." It couldn't be clearer that Charlie didn't believe a word that Jacob was saying. He put the car back in drive, and the patrol car lurched back into action. Charlie always drove the speed limit, and Jacob did some mental calculations. They had at most ten minutes before they reached the Cullen's.

"Anyways, I thought I'd catch a ride," Jacob babbled nervously, "Knew it was you as soon as I saw the patrol car… It's recognizable, that's for sure. Thought I'd go see what the Cullen place is like." Jacob let out an edgy laugh. He didn't say anything else, his mind still searching desperately for some type of plan. Leah's words echoed in his head. Don't do anything stupid. All the plans he could come up with stupid. Surely Seth had warned the Cullens and convinced them to act as if nobody was home.

"You know, I was always rooting for you, kid," Charlie said after a second, "Maybe it's not too late, you know. Bella's mother and I got married young and got divorced young. Maybe she'll still come around. Until you have kids, divorce is nothing more than a breakup with some extra paperwork."

Jacob snorted. It was too late for that. Far too late. But Charlie didn't know that.

"You know, Charlie, the world isn't how it seems," Jacob said suddenly, "A lot is going on that you don't know about."

"What are you trying to say, Jake?"

"Charlie, it's too late for me and Bella. The world isn't how it seems, Charlie. It's a strange world out there and nothing is how it seems. But the important thing is that Bella knew that."

Jacob's eyes were trained on Charlie as he drove. Charlie's resolve never faltered, his eyes still glued to the road. Jacob could see how tightly he was gripping the wheel, and he realized that Charlie was just as nervous as he was.

"What in God's name?" Charlie cried. Jacob tore his eyes off of Charlie and looked ahead only to see a familiar sandy blob, "It's one of the wolves that Bella was talking about! Jesus Christ, it's giant!"

"Seth, what the fuck?!" Jacob hissed under his breath. Charlie barely slowed the moving vehicle before Jacob opened the door and jumped out of it. He phased in mid-air, thankful that the action was effortless now, and landed on four paws, tumbling only a little before he propelled himself to where Seth was standing firmly.

**_Seth, move out of the way!_** Jacob hadn't known it was going to be an Alpha command until it was out halfway formed. It was effortless, commanding Seth pack member to save his own life. With an awkward movement, Seth moved halfway out of the road. Out of the direct line of contact, at least. It didn't matter though; Charlie was already slamming on the brakes.

_Seth, what the fuck are you doing? What part of don't be a fucking martyr do you not understand?!_ Jacob seethed. He knocked his body against Seth's, both wolves tumbling out of the road. Charlie's car was stopped a few feet away; the tires had screeched and the car had slid at the sudden stop. Jacob continued pushing Seth out of the way, into the forest, although Seth put up such a little fight that it was almost unforced, _You really have lost your Goddamn mind!_

_Jake, you don't understand! They're going to leave if Charlie comes! I can't let them leave and take Nessie, Jacob. You have to understand that._ Seth was panicked and pleading.

_Phase, Seth. Charlie's coming and he has a gun,_ Jacob commanded. Wolves could heal fast, but could they survive a gun wound? Jacob hadn't the slightest clue and he wasn't trying to find out.

Both of them phased where they were standing. Seth had clothes tied around his leg, but in Jacob's hurry to get Seth out of the way, his jean shorts had been destroyed.

"Jacob, they'll leave if Charlie comes," Seth explained urgently, "I had to stop him. I can't let him go see her."

"So what were you going to do? Let him kill you and send your body off to some government lab and get us all exposed and thrown into some type of secret government prison?" Jacob demanded, "I told you I'd take care of it!"

"I know Jacob, but you didn't have a plan and -"

"And so your plan was to have Charlie to hit you with his car?"

"Well, not exactly. I didn't really have a plan," Seth admitted sheepishly, "I just knew I needed to stop him."

They could hear a crunch of the leaves and the breaking of branches approaching; they had managed to get a fair distance from the road and safely into the forest. But Charlie was fast on their heels, at least for a human.

"We'll figure this out later, Seth. Just shut up for now," Jacob shifted his weight from side to side as the footsteps came closer and closer.

"Shutting up," Seth gulped for air, looking more nervous than Jacob had ever seen before.

"Jacob, Seth? What are you guys doing here? Why are you naked? Don't answer that. I don't want to know," Charlie approached, his gun in his hands, "Did you see the giant wolves? There were two of them! One pushed the other right off the road."

Jacob and Seth exchanged a glance.

"Charlie, you know how I told you that the world isn't how it seems?" Jacob took a deep breath. Was he doing this? He was doing this. Charlie had already seen the wolves and he already knew something was up. No point in stopping now.

"What's this about, Jacob?" Charlie asked impatiently. His fingers twitched at the trigger and he looked around, scanning for the wolves.

"You should put that down, Charlie." Jacob willed his voice to be cool and confident, "You don't want to hurt anyone. This is about Bella."

Charlie narrowed his eyes but obeyed, "It's about Bella?"

"Yes. Charlie, me and Seth are the wolves you saw."

"Jacob, what are you doing?" Seth whispered, horrified. Jacob shot a warning look at him and Seth gulped for air once more. There was a slight tremble shaking Seth's body, but Jacob knew that Seth had better control than anyone else in his new ragtag pack.

Charlie just started laughing, "What in the world are you talking about, kid? Are you on drugs? Is that why you're naked in the woods? Bella said there was that gang problem down in La Push… I didn't realize it had gotten so bad. And you're telling me this is about Bella? Is Bella involved in this gang too?"

"We're not on drugs, Charlie. Hand me the gun and we'll show you. I promise you: this is about Bella."

Charlie looked from Seth to Jacob, as if he couldn't decide what to do. Both boys towered over him, and even naked, Jacob knew they must look intimidating. Several moments passed as his eyes moved from boy to boy. Seth kept his eyes trained nervously on Jacob, still shaking just a little bit, even as he worked to regulate his breathing.

Finally, Charlie slowly handed Jacob the gun.

"Phase, Seth." The familiar rustle of phasing filled the air and suddenly, Seth's giant sandy wolf was standing in front of them.

"What in God's name?" Charlie muttered, stumbling backward. He hit a tree and Jacob hurried to help him sit down.

"See, Charlie? It's just Seth."

"You guys… you two… you're the murderers!" Charlie yelped, the realization hitting him suddenly, "All those people! You killed all those people!" Charlie reached for his gun, cursing as soon as he realized that Jacob was still holding it. He reached out, attempting to hit Jacob, but between Jacob's superhuman speed and Charlie's delayed reaction from the shock, Jacob easily dodged the punch.

"Murderers?" Jacob laughed, "No, we catch the murderers. Haven't you noticed there haven't been any lately? It's because we stopped them. Take a deep breath, Charlie. Think it through. Seth's been here all summer, you've seen him. The killings stopped early in the summer. If Seth was the murderer, you would still be finding bodies."

Charlie shook his head, still in disbelief. He was muttering something unintelligible about how he must have gone insane under his breath. He glared at Jacob, "What does this have to do with Bella?"

"Charlie, do you want to see Bella again?" Jacob asked. Charlie nodded, but his stare was suspicious, "Seth, phase back. Listen, Charlie, if you want to see Bella again, you must listen to us."

"What does this have to do with Bella?" Charlie demanded.

"As I said earlier, Charlie, the world isn't how it seems. Seth and I are -"

"Don't say it!" Charlie squeaked out. Seth let out a chuckle, the tension he'd been holding in escaping at that moment.

"The world isn't as it seems, Charlie," Jacob repeated, "And Bella knows that."

"Have you seen her?" Charlie demanded, suddenly focused on his daughter again. He looked from Seth to Jacob, eyes narrowing.

"We've seen her," Seth confirmed, "I saw her earlier today."

Charlie immediately tried to get up, but Jacob held him down.

"Charlie, wait." The authority in Jacob's voice surprised even him, "Before you go to the Cullen's, you should listen to us."

"Is she okay? Is my daughter okay?" Charlie begged, ignoring Jacob.

"She's fine," Seth smiled at him.

"She's fine now," Jacob clarified, "But she was dying. The Cullens…"

"The Cullens saved her life!"

"Seth, shut up."

"She was dying?" Charlie choked.

"But she's fine _now_ ," Jacob emphasized. Fine wasn't really true. She was still dead, but she was also still there. Trapped in some horrible eternal afterlife, "She's healthy. But she's different. She's changed."

"How so?" Charlie's eyes narrowed, "If that bastard did anything to her, I swear to God…"

"Edward saved her life," Seth repeated, "He didn't do anything to her!"

Except impregnate her with the demon spawn that eventually ended her life. But that didn't matter. Charlie didn't need to know that.

"Seth, please," Jacob tried to hide his frustration, "Charlie, she's fine and you should go see her, but you have to understand that she's changed."

"Changed how?" Charlie's eyes narrowed at Jacob again.

"Well, for starters she looks a lot more like Esme now than she does Renee."

"She'll seem different to you, but she's still Bella. Sorry, Jake. I'll be quiet."

"That's all? She just looks different?"

"Well, there's one more thing. She and Edward, they, uh, how should I say this? Maybe you should just go see them. They have a surprise for you, that's all."

Charlie stared at Jacob, "They have a surprise for me?"

"Yes! And you'll love it!" Seth was nearly bouncing up and down at the mere abstract mention of Nessie.

Charlie looked so stunned that Jacob wondered if he might pass out, "And I can go see her? Bella?"

Jacob and Seth exchanged a look. "It was Charlie that was the problem wasn't it? They won't leave if Charlie has been dealt with?"

Seth nodded, "I think they'll stay now."

"Were they going to leave?" Charlie was alarmed again.

"They were. But I think they'll stay now. Seth, you should go warn them and talk all this over with them." Seth didn't even wait for Jacob to finish before he and phased again, running off. Charlie gasped at the sight but managed to stay on two feet this time.

"You okay, Charlie? Maybe we should get you back to patrol car," Jacob suggested. Charlie nodded once, and the two set back through the woods.

"Are you coming to the Cullens, too, Jacob?" He turned to face Jacob as he spoke.

"I have some other things I need to do, actually. Sorry, Charlie," Jacob really did feel bad – Charlie as like a second father to him in many ways, and leaving him to deal with this alone felt cruel - but he knew Quil and Embry were waiting for him.

"Jacob, does your father know about all this?" Charlie asked as they walked back towards his car.

"Billy? Yeah, he knows everything," Jacob confirmed, "So does Sue. So did Harry, even."

"And Bella, she knew all of this, too?" Charlie sounded more tired than terrified now. Like he'd resigned himself to accepting his daughter's fate and the secrets that his friends had been keeping from him.

Jacob nodded, "Bella knew everything. She made an informed decision. She's happy, Charlie. You'll see."

They had reached the squad car now. Jacob handed Charlie back his gun, which he took eagerly.

"Does she turn into an animal, too?" Charlie asked as he opened the car door and slid in.

"Nah," Jacob laughed, "She only wishes she was that cool."

"You sure you don't need a ride?"

Jacob shook his head, "I'm headed back to La Push. Thanks though."

Charlie stared at him, "How are you getting to La Push?"

Jacob laughed, "I'm a were-, er, sorry, Charlie. I got my ways. Don't worry about me."

"You're a good kid, Jacob."

"Thanks, Charlie."

He watched as Charlie sped off before heading to the woods again. When he phased in, Quil and Embry were there to greet him.

-&-

"Ready for this?" Leah asked him as he approached the community center building. She was standing outside of it, under the awning to protect herself from the slight drizzle. For the first time, Jacob noticed that her face looked softer than it had in months – definitely since she'd first phased, but maybe even before that – and she greeted him with a smile that seemed genuine. It was a good look on her.

Jacob shrugged, "Guess I have to be? This is what? Our second week as an officially sanctioned pack and our fourth meeting? It's all bullshit anyway. They never say anything important."

The weekly meeting with the Elders was non-negotiable, although some of the bullshit that Sam had insisted on was not.

"God, management sucks," Leah complained.

"You wanna give up your role?"

"Never."

Sam and Jared had a confused looked on their face when they approached the community center doors. They joined Leah and Jacob under the awning, although judging by their wet hair, they'd traveled in their wolf form.

"I thought Quil and Embry were joining your pack today," Sam said looking from Leah to Jacob.

"They did," Jacob confirmed, "This morning."

Jacob hadn't realized how much he'd missed having his two best friends in the bond with him. The lack of privacy was awful, still, it always would be, but if you're going to share all your thoughts, there was no one better to do it with then your two best friends. By the time he phased after interrupting Charlie, Quil and Embry had been there to greet him, and it felt a bit like going home.

"Normally you bring your Beta to these types of meetings," Sam explained in his condescending way. As if Jacob hadn't sat through a whole host of them when he was Sam's Beta.

"I did." His voice was surprisingly cool, but beside him, Leah hissed.

"Leah's your Beta?" Sam asked skeptically, eyes darting to her.

"Yeah."

"Really?" Jared asked incredulously.

"Is that so hard to believe?" Leah scowled. The lines on her face had appeared again, and her face was much harder than it was a few minutes ago, "That a girl can be Beta? Asshole."

"I just thought you'd have picked Quil or Embry," Jared took a step back and put his hands up, "Sorry."

Sam looked at both of them again, "It's surprising, that's all. I would have thought you'd pick Quil or Embry – your best friends. You two used to fight so much. It has nothing to do with you being a girl, Leah."

Jacob didn't have to share a mind link with Leah to know she didn't believe Sam for even half a second. She scoffed and began to tremble, but before she could fight or explode or anything else, they were interrupted by Sue telling them it that the Elders were ready for them.

These meetings were nothing more than a check-in between the Elders and the Pack, nothing more than a stupid formality. But sitting there next to Leah, across from Jared and Sam, Jacob felt a sense of authority he never had before. Sure, he'd spoken up in previous meetings, but he never had anyone of his own to protect. And now he did. Leah, Seth, Quil, and Embry were all under his charge. Like or it not, he had a pack.

The meeting started with greetings; none of the Elders questioned Leah's presence. They all had the sense to release what it meant, or bringing your second wasn't actually a rule, just something that Sam had done. Either way, after several minutes of Old Quil droning on something about traditions, Leah had stopped shaking.

"There's eight of them now. But ten wolves," Billy stated. The discussion had turned to the Cullens and the possibility of other boys phasing.

"Last time they came, there were only five of them and only three wolves. So it's possible that without any more cold ones, no one else will phase."

"If anyone else joins, they'll join Jacob's pack," Old Quil asserted, "Since he's the one who's the rightful Alpha."

On the other side of the table, Jacob could see Sam tense. It could just be Jacob's eyes, but it looked like Sam was trembling was just a little. The mighty controlled, calm Alpha wasn't so controlled and calm after all.

"Who else would it be?" Jacob asked, redirecting the conversation. Another kid, he knew that much. Someone even younger than Brady or Colin? It was unthinkable, but if it was a boy, that's who it would be, "Do we know?"

"Denver Ascarrunz," Billy said quietly, "Denver would be next, I would guess."

Jacob couldn't place Denver in his mind right away, although he recognized the name. Rowena – the girl who had approached Quil about studying for math – must be his older sister. Jacob didn't know Rowena particularly well, but he felt for her; he knew firsthand how much a phasing could tear a family apart.

"He's what? Twelve or thirteen?" Sam asked solemnly.

"Twelve," Billy's voice was quiet. And Jacob thought he had lost his youth when he phased at sixteen, "He just started seventh grade."

"Jesus," Jared swore, "He's just a kid."

Jacob glanced at Leah, who was sitting beside him. Her face mirrored what he felt like: she looked like she might puke.

"We'll just hope it doesn't come to that. I saw him the other day and it didn't look like he'd gone through any type of growth spurt. He looked like a normal twelve-year-old." Sue said, "But we should all keep an eye on him, just in case."

"It could be a girl," Leah said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her.

"It won't be a girl," Sam stated.

"You don't know that."

"The legends never spoke of any female wolves," Old Quil agreed with Sam.

"Well I'm here, aren't I?"

"You are, Leah, but it seems that your transformation might be more of a unique situation. Colin and Brady have transformed, and they're quite young, but no other girls." Billy used the same tone as he had when he had tried to talk Charlie out of seeing the Cullens earlier in the day.

"No, Leah's right, it could be a girl. We don't know that for sure. Who would it be if it was a girl, do we have any idea?" Jacob wasn't sure if he was defending Leah because she was his Beta or because he genuinely felt bad for her. But the way Sam so easily dismissed her angered him.

"You have a sister, don't you, Jared?" Leah asked, daring Jared to say something, "Natalie? And isn't she fifteen? That's just the right age to phase."

Jared paled and nodded, "She turns sixteen in a few months."

"It won't be Natalie, Jared," Sam contended, "She hasn't gone through a growth spurt or anything."

Leah hissed a retort, as Jacob opened his mouth to speak. Old Quil mumbled something about the legends, as Billy tried opened his mouth to start to speak but closed it again just as quickly.

"We don't know who it will be." Sue's voice echoed through the mostly empty hall. Everyone stopped speaking and looked at her, "It could be Denver or Natalie or anyone else. There's no point in speculating."

"Right. We'll all look after the Ascarrunz boy and make sure he doesn't go through a growth spurt. And keep an eye out for any girls who look like they've grown several inches," Old Quil said with a note of finality. Jacob knew the conversation was over, "Should we move on to discussing patrol schedules?"

The conversation flowed into the purpose of being a wolf: patrols. As they debated how to best defend the tribe while keeping as many boys in school as possible and letting the older members of the packs have a life outside of being a wolf, Jacob stole a glance at Leah. She was sitting cross-armed, not saying anything. Her steely eyes were kept on the mural above Sam's head, never looking down at her ex or acknowledging anyone else's presence.

"One last item on the agenda: us Elders think it would be good if there were continued bonding activities for both packs. It's important that the packs remain on good terms and can work together." Sue's voice was less confident than normal as she said the words; she could already predict her daughter's reaction. Sure enough, Leah groaned at the decree.

"It is important. In case of another attack or battle, you all must be able to work together." As much as he didn't want to admit it, Jacob knew that Old Quil had a point. The only reason they had been able to defeat the newborns was that they worked well together; one of their five-member packs with just the Cullens would have been disastrous.

"We were thinking, Jacob, that we could have a bonfire for your birthday in a few weeks," Billy offered lightly.

"I don't want to do anything for my birthday." Jacob had given exactly zero thought to his birthday, but he spoke automatically. Even though he had always enjoyed spending time as a human with his pack mates, he didn't like the idea of having his birthday planned for him, even if he had no other ideas for a celebration.

"Your birthday is on a Saturday, and the bonfire can just happen to be the Friday before. No need for it to be for your birthday." Sue Clearwater may not have been Jacob's mother, but had spent enough time around her to know better than to argue when she spoke with that tone.

"Sure, sure."

"That's all then. You're all dismissed," Sue waved her hands at the four wolves, all of which stood up immediately. The Elders stayed seated, no doubt to gossip some more in the name of "tribal business." Their meetings were notorious for lasting for hours; Jacob doubted that even half of it was business.

As the wolves left the community center for the cool fall air, Jacob and Leah said their goodbyes to Jared and Sam, or Jacob did. Leah just muttered something intelligible, still too upset at their earlier comments about her being Beta to give any type of polite farewell.

"Sam's kinda sexist, isn't he?" Jacob asked as they walked back. It wasn't a long walk to the more residential area of the reservation, where both the Clearwaters and the Blacks lived, although both houses were nestled in the trees, with no immediate neighbors. Neither needed a coat, despite the weather, and both had walked previously, so it felt silly to transform for such a short walk.

"What?"

"Sam's kinda sexist," Jacob repeated, "Doesn't think a girl can be Beta, totally content to let his fiancé just stay at home and cook for him even though he doesn't even have a real job…"

"It won't be a girl," Leah mocked cruelly.

"See? Kinda sexist."

Leah quietly considered this before speaking, "He once said that Rachel was too ambitious."

"Rachel isn't too ambitious," Jacob said automatically. Rachel was a lot of things - annoying and nagging and a giant nerd who liked numbers and math too much - but she wasn't too ambitious. Wanting to get a Ph.D. was a fitting goal for someone who could get through her undergraduate degree in two calendar years. "What an asshole. Does Paul know he thinks that? I bet Paul would fight him if he heard that Sam thought that."

"It was a few years ago that he said that, so maybe he's changed his mind," Leah shrugged, "But I'll be sure to mention in front of Paul the next time I see him. It'd be funny to see him deck Sam."

"Make sure I'm there, too."

"We can do it at your birthday bonfire in a few weeks. It can be my present to you. I'll be sure to work it into the conversation somehow," Leah smiled deviously at Jacob. They had almost reached the point where the road split and they would go separate ways. It had been a surprisingly enjoyable walk, Jacob thought to himself. Leah wasn't that bad, after all. His decision to pick her for Beta paid off.

"See ya later, Leah."

"See ya, Jake."

It was just a little bit farther till he reached his own house, but the walk home felt just a little lonely without Leah.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am fully aware of how insanely long this chapter is but I already made so many cuts to it and I couldn't move anything without messing up the rest of the timeline so here we are. I think (hope) the next chapter really will be shorter.
> 
> Thanks for reading and please let me know your thoughts!


	6. Chapter Six

"Leah? Can you turn that down please?"

Leah grumbled but lowered the volume on the television by exactly three volume points. Enough so that Sue knew she had lowered the volume, but not enough to make any real difference.

It was a Sunday morning after a night patrol with Jacob, and with nowhere to be, Leah was laying on the couch, listening to Sue attempt to talk Seth through his geometry homework and flipping through channels on the television, trying to find something to watch. Where she once had dreaded patrols with Jacob, she'd come to look forward to them. She rarely patrolled with Quil or Embry, but Jake's mind was a welcome refuge from her brother's incessant cheeriness and thoughts of the baby vamp. So she was in a good mood, all things considered.

As the weeks had passed, Leah's life fell into a simple routine. She worked four to five days a week, and patrolled one day a week. Night patrols alternated between the packs, with two members of each pack taking each shift. Daytime patrols, however, were a solo gig, since the Elders and everyone agreed that vampires were less likely to attack during the day (and also because there were only four wolves who could patrol during the day, seeing as Sue was insistent that everyone else would get an education).

Patrolling – by herself – turned out to be _wonderful._ Leah loved it, although she'd never, ever admit it. Sam had never allowed her to patrol alone, and even if he had, with ten people in a pack, it was likely that there'd be someone else in wolf form and in the bond while she was patrolling. But while her pack might be a bunch of teenagers, it meant she was the only one who was old enough to patrol in the middle of the day. It gave her a type of authority that even Jacob lacked.

The rest of her time was spent doing whatever she wanted, sleeping or running as a human, or even doing a yoga video set she found at the Walmart in Port Angeles. She helped Sue cook and run errands. Occasionally, Leah even baked, though she was sure to devour it all before anyone else could try it so she couldn't be compared to Emily. She avoided Sam except for the weekly meetings with the Elders and the small run-ins at the store (La Push was a small place and those types of encounters were unavoidable).

Behind her, Seth complained about triangles and Sue tried her best to explain, but Leah could tell that her mother had no clue what she was talking about. Harry had always been the one to help them with homework, not Sue, as he'd been the patient parent. There was a perpetual absence in the Clearwater household, but in these moments, it was especially noticeable.

A loud knock interrupted Sue's incoherent explanation about transformations. Leah made no move to get up and answer the door, far too comfortable to leave her perch on the couch. Besides, it was the middle of the episode. Anyone important would just barge in. Sue muttered something under her breath about lazy children as she walked to greet their visitor.

Charlie spoke as soon as Sue opened the door, "Hey, Sue. Billy and I went fishing today. Brought this over for you."

Charlie Swan had been a fixture in Leah's life for as long as she could remember. He had come to family dinners at the Clearwater's house or attended games at the Black's house while the kids played outside. Really, she hadn't minded him much – she hadn't really paid him much attention – until his idiotic daughter had come waltzing back into his life. That wasn't fair, of course. Bella hadn't really begun to affect Leah's life until she attracted the ginger leech that caused whatever was wrong in Leah's genes to go haywire and force her to transform into a wolf.

"Hi, Seth, hi, Leah," Charlie greeted them gruffly. Leah raised her hand as an acknowledgment, while Seth piped back a cheerful hello of his own.

"Do you want to stay for lunch?" Sue offered.

"I'm heading over to the Cullen's, this afternoon," Charlie explained. Leah couldn't help but notice that he called it the Cullen's still. As if his daughter didn't live there, too, "Sorry, Sue."

"I'm going over there, too!"

"If you finish your homework," Sue responded sharply.

"I'm gonna get it done!" Seth shot back, sounding like the fourteen-year-old he was in the moment.

"You should come too, Sue," Charlie said after a moment, "Nessie is Bella's kid, and Seth certainly likes hanging out with her, don't you?"

Leah scoffed. Did Charlie detect anything wrong with Seth's obsession with Bella's month old child? Or did the fact that, despite being only a few weeks old, Nessie looked much, much older, and spoke so clearly keep him from realizing that Seth's entire existence now depended on his granddaughter?

"I'm not sure that they want me there," Sue replied faintly.

"No, they wouldn't mind!" Seth spoke before Charlie could.

"Seriously, Sue, Bella's happy to show off Nessie to anyone who will see her," Charlie agreed.

"You should really meet her, Mom. She's great, isn't she, Charlie?"

"I'll go," Sue answered suddenly, cutting off Charlie's agreement.

Leah sat straight up and stared at her mom. Sue had a tight smile on her face, but Charlie and Seth didn't seem to see her nervousness. Both of the boys immediately started telling her how happy they were that she was going, how much Nessie would love her, and how much she'd love Nessie. Leah watched her mom carefully as Sue and Charlie made plans to meet up in a little while, at the Cullen's house. Seth's promise to do his homework was forgotten, and he ran off to shower while Sue walked Charlie to the door.

"Do you want to go, too, Leah?" Sue asked after she'd said goodbye to Charlie.

"I have to, don't I?"

"It would be nice," Sue confessed, "They're vampires, after all."

Leah only nodded at her human mother, as an image of the blond soldier vamp losing control and attacking Sue filled Leah's mind. Bella had told Jacob that's what had happened before. Leah wasn't stupid enough to take any chances with her own family. Sue was tough, but she was only human.

"Thank you, Leah." Sue understood her daughter's silence to be agreement, "I'll go get ready then."

Leah had showered after coming back from her patrol at five am and didn't feel the need to do it again. She should probably change from her old sweats and her t-shirt, but then again, who was she trying to impress? Certainly not the leeches. She'd never live up to their standards, so there was no point in trying. But still, Leah had at least a shred of self-esteem left, so she went upstairs and changed into some jeans and a clean t-shirt, before returning downstairs to wait for her brother and mother. She sat at the kitchen table, scanning through the newspaper without really reading any of it as she waited for the rest of her family.

"You're coming?" Seth asked as soon as he saw that Leah had changed and moved from her perch on the couch.

"Mom can't go alone."

"Why not?" Seth's voice was full of confusion.

"They're vampires, Seth! And Mom is human! She can't defend herself if one of them decides to attack her." Leah knew Seth wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, but this was on another level. How could he think it was acceptable to let their mother, their last living parent, go see a bunch of vampires without any type of protection?

"We let Charlie go over there alone," Seth pointed out, "And I'll be there."

"It's Charlie's dumbass daughter who married a bloodsucker in the first place. If he gets killed by his own daughter, then that's karma. And I love you, Seth, but you have a blind spot where the vampires are concerned."

"I wouldn't let them hurt my own mother!"

Leah simply shrugged, "Seeing as she's the only parent we have left, I'm not going to let you take any chances. I'm not taking care of you if the bloodsuckers kill Mom. You'll have to ask Billy or Charlie or someone to take you in. You think Charlie or Billy knows how to cook? Maybe you could live with Quil and have parties with your toddler imprints. That wouldn't be weird at all. Or Emily. You'd love to live with Emily and Sam, wouldn't you?"

Seth crinkled his nose in disgust but didn't say anything. Her brother's loyalty to her extended enough where, although he was on better terms with Emily and Sam than she was, he was uncomfortable spending extended periods in their company.

"Did you finish that?" Leah nodded towards his math homework.

"Almost."

"You gotta get it done."

"I know, I know," Seth rolled his eyes, "But I have time. I'll do it afterward. It's fine, Leah."

"Mom's right, you know, you can't fail out of high school your freshman year."

"I'm not going to, Leah." There was her fourteen-year-old brother. There was a normal teenager somewhere inside of Seth. He didn't come out often, but he was there.

Relieved by his normal reaction, Leah grinned, "First one to the car gets shotgun!"

From years of cross-country and track, Leah was faster than Seth, and she was more aggressive and had no qualms pushing him if it meant she got an advantage. She made it out the door before he did, and was nearly at the car when she caught Embry and Quil standing at end of Clearwater's long drive.

"Where are you guys going?" Quil called as the two of them sprinted out of the house. What he was doing by the Clearwater's house was a mystery to Leah, but he was there, with Embry by his side. At the appearance of Seth and Leah, Quil and Embry came closer.

"We're going to see Nessie and the Cullens!" Seth gave up on his sprint when he saw their pack mates, although Leah had reached the passenger seat door a millisecond before.

Embry and Quil glanced at each other, a giant grin creeping on to Quil's face, "We wanna go."

"What?"

"We wanna go see the demon spaw-" Quil stopped at the look on Seth's face, "Sorry, Seth. We wanna go see Nessie."

"You want to go see the devil half-vamp? This whole pack is out of their Goddamn minds," Leah rolled her eyes.

"We wanna see this thing that Seth imprinted on and Jacob left Sam's pack for," Embry explained.

"Not a thing, a baby! She's a very talented, very wonderful little baby," Seth protested.

"Sorry, Seth. We wanna see the girl that caused all these problems," Embry corrected himself, as Leah stood by horrified, "Why are you going, Leah?"

"To protect my human mother! Not for a social visit!"

"Leah's already met Nessie," Seth explained with a shrug.

"Won't Jake be upset?"

"I don't think Jake cares who meets the devil spawn so long as he doesn't have to spend any time with it," Leah told them.

"So can we go, oh-powerful-Beta?" Quil smirked.

"I'm not here to give you permission to do anything," Leah said, "Go if you want to."

"Cool. We'll meet you there." Both of Quil and Embry took off running towards the forest, talking excitedly to each other as they jogged. Why they were so excited to meet the demon spawn, Leah wasn't sure, but at least there would be three real werewolves and one half-werewolf in case anything went wrong.

"What was that about?" Sue had joined her children by the car, but not before seeing Quil and Embry take off.

"Quil and Embry are coming too," Seth explained happily.

A thin smile crossed Sue's face, "It's nice that your friends want to meet her, too, Seth."

The ride to the Cullens was relatively quiet, although Seth mentioned several times how excited he was that Sue was finally meeting Nessie. Each time, Sue tightened her grip on the wheel, and Leah muttered something about vampires and human mothers not mixing under her breath.

Quil and Embry were waiting by the time the Clearwaters arrived at the giant white house. They weren't standing too close to it, but they had already phased back to their human forms and met the Clearwaters at the end of the drive, jogging after the car the rest of the way.

Charlie pulled in mere seconds later, and after awkward introductions, they all made their way to the front doors. Charlie's eyes had bulged when Embry and Quil were introduced as Jacob's friends – he evidentially put two and two together to realize what that meant – before recovering with a resounding "I don't want to know" when they had explained that Jacob wouldn't be coming today.

"Aren't you going to ring the doorbell?" Quil asked as Seth put his hand on the doorknob.

Seth shrugged nonchalantly, "I never ring the doorbell."

"You never ring the doorbell? Did I raise you with no manners?"

Seth rolled his eyes, "It's fine, Mom. They know we're here anyway."

As soon as Seth said the words, the door to the giant white house opened. The sickly sweet scent of vampire flooded the air immediately, stronger than it had been ever before. The psychic pixie answered the door and welcomed them in a smile.

"I knew it was you all were coming as soon as the afternoon disappeared! But I didn't realize you were bringing guests," she chirped cheerfully, before sticking out her hand, "I'm Alice!"

"Sue Clearwater. Seth's mom." Sue took her hand without hesitation and shook it with astounding confidence.

Alice herded everyone into the main room, Seth bounding ahead, followed by Charlie and Sue, and then Quil and Embry, with Leah lagging behind. In the main room, Blondie and her bodybuilder husband were both sitting on the couches, the television blaring with some football game. Upon seeing Seth, Nessie immediately got down from Bella's lap to greet Seth with a hug.

Nessie was unlike any child Leah had ever met before. Leah had seen her in Seth's mind, but it was shocking to see the mini-monster with her own eyes. Despite being slightly less than a month old, she walked gracefully across the room to greet everyone, and introduced herself in flawless English. She had the body of a twelve-month-old, but she was clearly not a toddler. It was horrifying and unnatural, simply put.

As Seth made introductions, Leah saw Quil and Embry exchange a glance, before she made eye contact with Embry. Like Leah, Quil and Embry were reacting like they had thought that Seth's memories were some type of exaggeration. But Quil and Embry managed warm smiles at Nessie, at least, which is more than Leah could do.

Quil, used to being around Claire and her siblings, immediately bent down to Nessie's level and greeted her warmly. Embry mirrored him, though much more awkwardly. Sue did not approach the child but managed an earnest smile and a wave.

"Do you remember Leah, Nessie?" Seth asked. Nessie nodded and waved shyly. Unsure of what else to do, Leah waved back. Nessie shouldn't remember her – they'd met when she was all of twenty hours old – but still, Leah waved, intimidated by the child's darling looks and cherubic face. She had inherited the vampire's appeal; she was truly an enchanting little thing. But unnatural, Leah reminded herself; Nessie's whole existence defied the rules of nature.

"Where's Edward?" Charlie asked after everyone had settled in, and the conversation had been flowing awkwardly for several minutes. The bodybuilder, Charlie, and Seth had been discussing the game. Quil, Embry, Sue, and Leah had all sat in silence ever since entering the house, although Quil was brave enough to sit on the floor and play blocks with Nessie and Seth.

"He's upstairs with Carlisle and Jasper," Bella explained, "They're doing some research."

Bella's eyes didn't leave her child as she said it, and Leah discerned that they were trying to figure out what type of ungodly creature they had created.

"Have you asked your friends in Denali yet?" Seth asked as he stacked a block on top of a perfect tower.

"Our friends in Denali?"

"You know, the ones who were at the wedding." He picked up Nessie and let her stack a block on the top of the tower, far taller than she could reach. She centered it perfectly.

Bella and Blondie exchanged a glance, "We haven't asked them about it, yet," Bella explained.

"We should though," Blondie said, "They might know something. Or if nothing else they'd probably want to meet her and help us research."

"They'll say yes!" Pixie exclaimed suddenly, jumping up, "They'll come in one week's – but not Irina. She's traveling, she's still upset, the poor thing. Oh, how exciting!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Leah saw Charlie stare at Pixie with an unnerved face, before looking pointedly at the game. Beside him, Sue was sitting awkward and stiff, looking nervously over at Seth. It seemed as though the Cullens had given up all pretense of being human, which made the humans in the room uncomfortable.

"That's an excellent idea, Seth," Dr. Bloodsucker appeared at the top of the staircase, with the minder reader and the soldier vamp behind him. All were smiling, looking positively thrilled at the suggestion, "I can't believe we didn't think of it. Eleazer and Carmen might know something from their time traveling. I'll call Tanya now."

Dr. Bloodsucker disappeared back into his office, while the other two made their way downstairs. After polite greeting and introduction, the mind reader and the soldier joined the rest of their family, although Leah did notice that the soldier stayed significantly farther from the humans than Edward.

Their rag-tag group stayed for several hours. The whole time, Leah sat stiffly and protectively close to her mother, who was nearly as tense as Leah was. Charlie eventually relaxed and got into several rousing discussions about the state of Seattle football with Emmett and Embry.

The baby vamp stayed mostly silent, although she did lecture Quil on not stacking the blocks in alphabetical order since she apparently knew the alphabet at the age of four weeks. To his credit, Quil took it well and gave Nessie back her blocks before retreating to sit next to an unsettled looking Embry on one of the couches. Other than that, most of the attention was paid to the game, which Leah watched only with a slight interest. She cared little about football or sports in general. Leah did notice, however, that Charlie kept at least a partial eye on his granddaughter, and whenever she did something too advanced, he would look around and made panicked eye contact with whomever he could find who had seen the same thing – normally Leah or Sue, but occasionally Embry or Quil. Seth never seemed to let Nessie's capabilities scare him.

"We better get going," Sue announced a few hours later after the Seahawks had lost their game, much to the dismay of all the males in the room. Leah stood up immediately after the announcement, but Seth stayed put, so Sue continued, "Seth has geometry homework to finish and Leah and I both have work tomorrow."

"Seth, if you need help with geometry, I'd be happy to help you," Edward offered, abusing his mindreading skills once again, "While I wouldn't call mathematics a passion of mine, geometry is certainly something that I'm proficient in."

"Really?" Seth's face lit up at the prospect of getting help from someone who wasn't Sue, "I'll run and go get it and then bring it back here, if that's okay? It's due tomorrow and it would be really awesome if I didn't have to turn it in late."

"Of course. If your mom is amenable, that is," Edward hastily added, after noticing Sue's displeased face.

"Just be back by eight pm, sharp," Sue relented. Leah knew her mother would just be happy not to have to try to help Seth anymore, even if it meant Seth was out late with the leeches.

Seth quickly agreed, and bid farewells to the Cullens, including a promise to Nessie that he'd be back shortly. Embry and Quil followed Seth out the back door and into the woods. Charlie looked at all three of them suspiciously as they left and muttered, "Don't wanna know," for the fortieth time that day.

For their part, Leah, Sue, and Charlie thanked the Cullens for their hospitality (Leah only after her mother elbowed her), and left the bloodsuckers and their giant, too perfect house. The Cullens thanked them for coming, with Bella pointedly saying they were welcome back at any time, although Leah heard Blondie complain quietly, too low for human ears.

"She's a cute little girl, Charlie," Sue told him after they were safely out of the Cullens house. Leah had no doubt that the bloodsuckers could still hear them, but she didn't bother to tell them. No point in freaking them out anymore than they already are.

"She's real cute," Charlie agreed, "Smart, too from the looks of it. I told them I don't want to know what's going on with her, but I know she's special."

Leah snorted. Special. That was one word for the monstrosity that Charlie's daughter and the mindreading leech had created.

"She'll be okay, Charlie," Sue assured him, though only after shooting Leah a look, "It's a strange world, but she'll be okay."

"Thanks, Sue," Charlie smiled at her, "Just wasn't what I was expecting my first grandchild to be, that's all."

"Charlie, life is never what you think it's going to be." Leah caught Sue glancing at her as the words left Sue's mouth.

"You're right about that," Charlie agreed, before saying goodbye to Leah and Sue. He climbed into his cruiser, as Leah and Sue started their car. They drove behind him for a period, until Charlie turned into the diner in Forks and they continued to La Push.

The car was quiet for the majority of the drive. The radio wasn't on and neither Sue nor Leah spoke. The only sound was the quiet hum of the engine which continued for the entire drive.

"Thank you for going with me, Leah," Sue said quietly as they crossed the reservation boundary.

"I wasn't going to let them kill you."

Sue chuckled quietly, "I appreciate that. I know this has been hard on you, Leah. All of it. It's been hard on all of us. But I thank you for looking out for Seth. He's so young and you've done so much for him. I hate to imagine him going through this without you. I'm proud of you, and I'm thankful for you."

As Sue finished speaking, she pulled into the driveway parked the car. Leah didn't respond, even as Sue left the car and walked inside. For as long as he had lived, Harry had handled all the emotional speeches in the Clearwater house. Sue's attempt at one stunned Leah into silence. The sudden change of her mother's demeanor allowed Leah to see the truth: the events of the past few months had taken a toll on her mother, just as they had on Leah.

-&-

Leah walked to the secluded cliffs where all the werewolves' bonfires were held alone. Seth and Sue had driven, but she'd declined the ride, instead opting to take her sweet time walking, although Sue hadn't left without threatening Leah's life if she ditched.

It wasn't like Leah hadn't seen the other pack. She'd seen Jared and Sam at the weekly meetings, she'd run into Paul at the store and Brady and Colin still came to hang out with Seth on occasion. The reservation was small and there was nowhere to hide. But she hadn't seen them as a _pack_ since she had left with Jacob and Seth over a month ago. And Leah wasn't looking forward to it.

It had been bad enough when it was just one pack, where she was the only girl. Sure, she could pretend to gossip with Emily and Kim or talk about the past with Rachel (when Rachel bothered to show up to these type of things – which wasn't often – but she'd be there tonight if only because it was for Jacob's birthday), but Leah was always the outsider. Now she was the outsider of the renegade pack.

As she approached the cliffs, the sea air filled her nostrils, salty and fresh all at once. Leah could hear the noise of the event long before she arrived. They weren't a quiet bunch, and despite their isolated location, she had no doubt that any human who was passing by would be able to hear the party, even if they couldn't make out all the individual conversations as Leah could.

Everyone else had arrived earlier. Sam was on grill duty, flipping burgers and hot dogs, while Emily, Old Quil, and Sue sat talking nearby. After so many of these events, Leah knew that Emily always managed to be perched by the food, so she put on her brave face and greeted everyone as politely as possible and grabbed a small plate of food. She'd had enough sense to eat before coming, knowing that food with the werewolves was always a free-for-all.

Leah sat down on the far side of the fire, further back and away from everyone else. The heat of the fire warmed her, although she wasn't cold to begin with, not even in the nippy October air and her tank top.

Opposite her, Jared was strumming some song on his guitar. Quil was nearby, a nauseating look at of happiness on his face as Claire clapped her hands and danced in her adorable toddler way. Between Jared and Quil sat Kim, an almost equally delighted look on her face as she watched Claire dance.

"Hey." Rachel sat down beside Leah without waiting for any type of invitation. Leah scowled, not happy that her angry expression hadn't been enough to scare people away, "How's it going?"

"Fine."

"Bet you never thought you'd come to another one of the dork's birthday parties," Rachel continued unprompted, nodding her head at the direction of Jake. He, at least, looked like he was having a good time, playing Frisbee with Seth, Colin, and Embry.

"No. I didn't." Leah hadn't been to one of Jacob's birthday for years. The only reason she remembered his birthday last year was that she'd ran into Jacob and Billy in Port Angeles after Jacob had taken his driver's test and she had enough manners to wish him a happy birthday. Other than that, her last distinct memory of one of Jacob's birthday was the year he'd turned seven and the macaroni salad had gone bad and she and Seth had both gotten sick from it.

Sarah and Billy Black and Harry and Sue Clearwater had all been friends, the closest of friends, but their relationship had not extended to their children.

Sure, Leah considered Rachel and Rebecca to be her friends, if only because they had played together so much as children. But the twins were a year older than her and their friendship had slowly faded, especially after the twins went to middle school and Leah was stuck in elementary school, simply not cool enough to hang out with them. They were into boys and teen magazines and Leah wanted to play outside and go fishing. So by the time Leah had entered middle school a year later, her friendship with Rachel and Rebecca was mostly childhood memories.

For years, the three of them had been friendly enough with one another, saying hello in the halls at school and catching up whenever their parents had an event together. But then Rebecca and Rachel had both left the res and hadn't managed to keep in touch, outside of a few brief phone calls with Rachel a year. Rebecca never bothered to call, not even after Harry's death.

But, courtesy of Billy, Leah always knew what was going on with them, and it wasn't like she didn't care about them. She did. Spending every single Saturday from birth to the age of ten bonded people. So Leah had always considered Rachel and Rebecca to be her friends, even though the title wasn't fully appropriate.

"Things really have changed," Rachel remarked.

"How are grad school applications going?" Leah changed the subject, not wanting to wallow in her sorrows tonight. Not when everyone else was having such a good time.

"They're not," Rachel admitted with a sigh, "I took the GRE and didn't do as well as I wanted. I didn't have enough time to study this summer, between classes and work. So I'm just going to wait another year and apply then. Besides, I think Paul needs another year before he can safely leave the reservation."

"I'm sorry."

"It's no big deal," Rachel shrugged, "Gives me more time to figure out where I want to apply."

"Where all are you looking at?"

"Everywhere. The University of Chicago and Harvard, of course, but those are reaches. A bunch of schools down in California. Basically anywhere with a half-decent labor economics program. I'll just go the best program I get in to, that's fully funded of course."

"And Paul doesn't mind where you guys go?" Leah asked doubtfully. She couldn't imagine Paul anywhere but La Push.

"Surprisingly, Paul's cool with it. He said the south might be too hot, but I'm inclined to agree. At the end of the day, he'll do whatever I want."

Sickening, Leah thought to herself. The stupid imprint blinded him from seeing anything he might want – not that Paul really had high ambitions before all this – but now he really had nothing but the desire to serve Rachel on hand and foot.

"Probably seems pretty fucked up to you."

"A bit," Leah admitted.

"I would have thought the same thing just a few months ago," Rachel acknowledged, "But things change."

There was nothing to say to that. Leah knew things changed. She kept her eyes trained on the crackling fire, trying to ignore the activities of the packs around her. It had always been her strategy at these types of events: look bitchy and stare at the fire, and nobody would bother her. Leah expected Rachel to leave, but she didn't. She just kept sitting there, next to Leah, making no moves to get up or leave or find Paul or do anything other than just sit there.

A commotion caused both Rachel and Leah to turn around, where the game of Frisbee had been expanded to include Sam and Jared, who'd given up the grill and the guitar and were now chasing the others. Everyone was laughing, and Sam hollered gleefully and jumped up and down as he caught a particularly fast Frisbee thrown by Jacob.

"What a show-off," Rachel muttered.

"Who? Sam?"

Rachel nodded.

"Sam said you were too ambitious once." Leah glanced around, trying to find Paul. He was in some sort of eating contest with Brady, with both boys trying to down as many of Emily's sugar cookies as they could. With werewolf hearing, he was certainly capable of hearing their conversation, but only if he was focusing on it. And regrettably, he didn't appear to be.

Rachel barked out a laugh, "I think he said that to my face a couple of times back in the day."

"What?"

Rachel chuckled again before continuing, "You know, I feel kinda bad. Back when he first disappeared for two weeks and basically forfeited his chance to be valedictorian, I was ecstatic about it. Now that I know what really happened I realize I could have been a little less gleeful about it."

"Yeah, he was pretty annoyed with how everything turned out."

Three days after Sam had returned to school after he was found in the woods, he had disappeared again, after running out of school in the middle of fourth period. Rachel's bragging about being valedictorian had set Sam off, and he had just enough sense to get away before he had phased. Leah had only learned what happened because she had been in wolf form and in the mind link at the exact moment that Sam found out that Paul had imprinted on Rachel. Hearing Rachel's name out of the blue forced Sam to relive the memories of their fierce rivalry vividly, and the bond allowed everyone else who was phased to see them, too. Sam had quickly phased out under the guise of "helping Jacob deal with the news," but it was obvious that he only phased to stop the others from seeing anything else.

"Whatever. I'm glad you two aren't together anymore, Leah. Like I know it sucks for you and everything, but you can do so much better than Sam. I never understood what you saw in him anyway."

Reflexively, even though some part of her hated Sam with all her guts, Leah let out a noise of indignation. What did she see in Sam? Wasn't that obvious? He was smart and driven and funny and loyal. He liked the outdoors almost as much as she did. He was great with her family; Harry had loved him, Seth had adored him, even Sue had thought highly of him. Sam, at least when Leah fell in love with him, had been a great guy.

He had been smart enough to give Rachel Black – Rachel Black who took AP Statistics as an elective and got a full ride to WSU – a run for her money on for valedictorian. He had had a scholarship to Western and was determined to get a degree in biology. But that didn't seem to matter now that Sam was stuck on the res for the foreseeable future. Even as Jared and Leah had thought about college and possibly picking up classes in the future, Sam had remained resolute that he'd continue his job in construction. So he was still intelligent, but his drive had disappeared, focused instead of running his pack and his future with Emily.

Long before he had a scholarship to Western and Leah knew just how smart he was, it had been Sam's sarcastic joke about something some teacher had said that had first made Leah notice him. Sure, she'd always known Sam, but she first _noticed_ him after she'd heard the sarcastic comments he'd make under his breath at cross country practice her freshman year. He had her howling with laughter at nearly every practice; their shared sense of humor guaranteed that what he found funny so did she.

But ever since Sam came back from his first two weeks in the woods after the first time he'd transformed, the jokes had stopped. She'd spent nearly six months in Sam's head, aware of each and every one of his thoughts in a way more intimately than she ever considered possible. But his thoughts had never been funny; there had never been any of those witty comments that she'd fallen in love with.

Even in the six months between his transformation and Emily's ill-fated visit, he hadn't been as amusing. Something about being a wolf had hardened him in a way that Leah wasn't sure would ever fade. Even now, as he settled close to Emily by the fire, with a look on his face more peaceful than Leah had seen in months, he seemed to have lost some of the pleasant, sunny nature that was Leah's Sam always had.

And, of course, even when they were dating, he'd had flaws. He always followed rules diligently (his refusal to keep Leah out past curfew was part of the reason her parents had loved him so much). But he was a stickler for the rules - Jacob had figured out a way to tell Bella the truth and she was a stupid pale face who he wasn't even dating - but Sam had never managed to do the same to her, and they'd been dating for three years when he first phased. Jacob had mere weeks with Bella and everything had come out, Sam had months and had never even come close.

And loyal? Well, he wasn't so loyal after all, now was he? It turned out that he wasn't loyal and that he liked certain members of Leah's family a little _too_ much.

So for the first time, Leah saw why exactly she was the pathetic ex-girlfriend. She was pining after someone who didn't exist. Her Sam was gone, engulfed by the wolf that he had become.

"Yeah," Leah said slowly, "I don't either."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did Stephanie Meyer address why the Cullens, who considered the Denali clan to be family, did not inform Tanya and her family of Bella's pregnancy and/or Nessie's birth? Or is that just a plot hole that was never filled? I scanned my bootleg copy of Breaking Dawn (the copy I bought on release day is at my parent's house on the other side of the country and I found a version online that I think is legit but honestly it could be slightly off and I wouldn't know. Yes, I know I'm a bad person) but I didn't see anything about it. But I've always wondered why they didn't just tell the Denali clan, especially after Bella survived and they realized that she wasn't the monster they thought she might be and everything with the wolf pack got sorted out
> 
> Remember how I said this chapter was going to be shorter? Yeah, that didn't happen. Sorry.
> 
> As always, thanks so much for reading and please please please let me know your thoughts!


	7. Chapter Seven

It was late enough in the season that the road to La Push was almost empty, even though it was a Saturday afternoon. The Rabbit couldn't go as fast as Jacob would have liked, but it was _his._ He built it, he drove it, and – most importantly – he could use it to get around without having anyone read his thoughts.

Once a month, someone had to drive into Forks and pick up Billy's meds from the pharmacy. For years, it had been Jacob who had done it but after Rachel came back and ended up getting a job in Forks, she had been the one who made the monthly trip to the pharmacy. But she forgot this month and Billy only had one dose left and so Jacob volunteered to drive down there. Billy tried to get Rachel to do it since it was Jacob's birthday, but Rachel was in a foul mood, and Jacob didn't have anything better to do.

Jacob hadn't asked Rachel to make a cake for his birthday, but when he woke up at eleven (the universe had evidently decided that its birthday present to him would be a chance to sleep in), she had the ingredients all on the table and loudly announced that she would make him a funfetti cake, just like their mom always had. She seemed so determined that Jacob didn't have it in him to tell her that he had outgrown funfetti several years ago, and would much prefer a chocolate one.

The rain trickled down the windshield as Jacob made it back to the Black's house. It wasn't a hard rain, just a drizzle, but Jacob always made a point to drive carefully in the rain, lest he got into an accident.

The Clearwater's car was parked in front of the Black's house when Jacob arrived, but that wasn't too surprising. Sue was always over at Billy's or vice versa. What was surprising, however, was the sight that greeted Jacob when he entered his house.

Embry, Quil, and Seth had crammed onto the Black's couch, and Leah was standing against the wall behind the kitchen table, where Sue and Rachel sat. Billy's chair was also pulled up to the table, and on the table, there was not one, not two, but three cakes and two pies.

"Is this a surprise party?" Jacob asked. There weren't any decorations, and no one shouted surprise, but it was the only reason he could think of that there would be five desserts.

"No. It's a breakdown in communication." Leah looked bored, standing behind Billy's table. It was apparent that Sue had dragged her here again.

"A breakdown in communication implies there was a communication that failed. There was no communication. There was a complete lack of communication." Annoyance crept into Rachel's voice as she spoke. Her cake stood out among the others. It wasn't the fact that it was the only non-chocolate one, but it was also the only one that looked unfinished.

"Son, there was a lack of communication, and as a result, you have five birthday desserts." Billy couldn't hide his amusement at the pile of sweets on the table.

"Hey, technically, the apple pie isn't for Jake's birthday," Quil piped up, "It's just 'cause my mom went to some apple orchard with her boyfriend and didn't know what to do with all the apples she picked."

"Charlie came by and dropped the other pie off. It's strawberry, from the diner down in Forks. He said happy birthday, but he couldn't stay. He's working tonight," Billy explained, gesturing to the other pie.

"That was nice of him."

"Emily dropped off the chocolate cake – the one with the fancy frosting, that is," Billy continued as he tossed Jacob a card, "And she left that, too."

Jacob caught the card easily before glancing at Leah, who was openly scowling. He quickly diverted his eyes and stared at the cakes again. One chocolate cake that looked like it could be from a bakery (Emily's), one rather sad looking funfetti cake (Rachel's), and one chocolate-frosted cake that was definitely homemade, but looked quite a bit better than Rachel's attempt, "So I know Rachel made the funfetti cake. Who made the other one?"

"I did," Seth chirped up, "It's red velvet! Leah helped."

Jacob glanced again at Leah, who was now looking down at her lap, "Thanks, guys."

"It was Dad's recipe – well, Grandma's, I guess, but Dad was always the one who made it," Seth continued cheerfully.

"Happy birthday, Jacob," Sue said.

"Thanks, Sue. Thanks, everyone," Jacob looked around at his friends and family who'd all squeezed into the main room of the Black's house. It was a nice scene if Jacob thought so himself, "Anyone want cake? Or pie?"

"I do!"

"Me!"

"Shouldn't we sing to you first?" Quil asked with a grin.

"Or we could just eat," Jacob suggested.

"We should just eat," Leah concurred.

Rachel, evidently in agreement, reached behind her and grabbed a couple of knives and plates from the cupboard, "Who wants a piece of what?"

In the middle of a cacophony of requests for dessert, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Rachel handed Embry a piece of Quil's mom's pie as she answered the phone.

"Rachel? Hi! It's Becca!"

"Hi, Bec. How's it going?" Rachel balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she continued to serve up pieces of pie.

"I'm good! Now put the dork on!" Becca sang. She was always the louder of the twins, and no werewolf hearing was needed to hear exactly what she was saying, "It's his birthday – I want to talk to him!"

Jacob took the phone and a plate from Rachel, "Hi, Becca."

"Jake? Is that you?"

"It's me. I haven't talked to you in a while." A couple of months, at least. Maybe more? He was pretty sure he'd talked to her at some point after Rachel had gotten back, but maybe he hadn't. Jacob had definitely talked to Becca after phasing; he remembered that because she couldn't believe how deep his voice was and had hung up the first time saying she had the wrong number.

"Right, sorry about that. I get busy, you know?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. We're all busy."

"Well listen, kid, this year I got you a real present! Solomon won his last surfing competition, and you wanna know what the prize was?"

"What was it?"

"A Hawaiian airlines flight voucher! Worth fifteen hundred dollars! So we were thinking that since I hadn't been back since we got married and you've never even met Solomon, we should come home and visit. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"What?" Jacob couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. In the years since she got married, Rebecca had never once mentioned visiting La Push.

"No!" Rachel cried, trying to grab the phone out of Jacob's hands. He had about a foot of height on her though, and he glared back, keeping it out of her hands, "She can't come here!"

Jacob glanced over at his friends sitting on the couch with plates of desserts on their hand. All looked extremely tense. Embry and Seth were both staring at their desserts like they were the most interesting thing they'd ever seen, while Quil had a look of terror on his face as he looked around the room. Leah shook her head violently, remaining standing against the far wall. Sue managed to keep a straight face but leaned forward in her chair as if she was ready to get up to intervene in a fight.

"She's not coming!" Rachel hissed, "Tell her no!"

"Rachel -" Billy started. Before he could get the next word out, Leah dropped her plate on the floor and Jacob realized that she was shaking. The clattering of the plate broke the spell, and suddenly everyone was speaking.

"…and he's going imprint on her and destroy her marriage!" Rachel pointed angrily at Embry, who held his hands up awkwardly.

"It's a bad idea," Leah agreed.

"She's Quileute, same as all of you. This is her land. She belongs here."

"Billy, it's not that simple - "

"… I just won't look at her the entire time…"

"… She's married! She has a life in Hawaii! How would that work? Tell me how that would work!"

"How would you manage to keep the secret from her? Becca's smart, she'd know something's up…"

"Jacob, are you listening to me? Jacob?" Rebecca spoke loudly enough that the racket around the room was brought to a halt.

"Yeah, I heard you, Becca. Sorry, there's just a lot going on over here…"

"It'll be great, Jake, you can finally meet Solomon and I can show him First Beach and…" Rebecca prattled on as if she was unaware of the noisy debate that had just occurred on the other side of the line.

"Let me talk to her!" Rachel demanded.

"Uh, Becca, Rachel's here. She heard everything and she wants to talk to you." Jacob all but shoved the phone into Rachel's hands, this time happy to let Rachel speak to her twin.

"Becca! You're coming here?"

"Yeah, and Rach, don't be upset that I told Jake first, it is his birthday after all, and Solomon just won the competition a few days ago. Plus I tried calling the other day but no one answered…"

"Well, listen, Becca, never mind all that. La Push is exactly the same as you left it. No changes at all. Literally none. There's no reason for you to come here. You're missing nothing. Absolutely nothing. So you should use the flight vouchers to go somewhere else. See something new!" The words tumbled out of Rachel's mouth swiftly with few breaths in between.

"You don't wanna see me, Rach?" There was no mistaking the hurt in Rebecca's voice.

There wasn't a single person in the room who didn't have their eyes on Rachel at that moment. Rachel turned her back to everyone and faced the wall, "No, Becca. It's not that. I do want to see you. It's just that La Push hasn't changed at all. It would be a waste of a ticket."

"Well, I was just thinking that it would be nice to show Sol where I grew up and went to school and everything..."

"You know what be nicer? If you showed Dad where you live now. Dad wants to see that you live a nice life in Hawaii," Rachel cut Rebecca off mid-sentence. She turned around and glared directly at Billy as she spoke, "You should use the flight vouchers to fly Dad to Hawaii."

Jacob looked over at his father. Billy made eye contact with Sue, whose expression was tense.

"Can Dad fly alone? What about you and Jake? I want to see you guys, too."

"Fifteen hundred dollars a lot of money. I bet you could get tickets for me and Jake, too. We could all go! A family trip to Hawaii!" Rachel seemed borderline hysterical; Jacob had never heard her speak so quickly in his entire life.

"Yeah, maybe…" Rebecca trailed off, thinking for a second, "I don't know, I'd kinda like to go back to the res, at least for a visit. You're there; you really think everything's the same? It's been four years, surely something has changed."

"Trust me, nothing has changed. Leah's here, I'll ask her. Leah, has anything changed on the reservation since Rebecca left?" Leah shook her head forcefully. "Leah agrees with me. Nothing has changed. You can fly the three of us out. We can go over Jacob's spring break. I'll request off work on Monday. It'll be great."

"Okay…" Rebecca agreed hesitantly,

"It'll be great!" Rachel repeated. She was still speaking too quickly, "I've always wanted to see Hawaii and the fresh air will be good for Dad. Maybe you could talk Jake into going to college out there. Or taking up surfing. It'll be great."

"Are you okay, Rachel?"

"Me? I'm fine! I'm going to Hawaii! I'm ecstatic!"

"You sound upset."

"No, I'm perfectly fine! I'm so excited to see you! Here, talk to Dad!" Rachel thrust the phone at Billy, and quickly left the house, muttering something about finding Paul.

"Hello, Rebecca." Billy's voice echoed through the whole room, "I hear Solomon won a surfing competition."

"I'm getting out of here," Leah announced, speaking over Billy. She was still shaking, "Happy birthday, Jake."

"Thanks, Leah," he said, although she was halfway out the door already. Billy was still talking to Becca, assuring her that Rachel wasn't upset at Becca.

Jacob looked at Quil and Embry, "You guys wanna go to the garage?" he asked quietly. They both nodded eagerly and stood up immediately. Jacob looked at Seth, who was sitting there looking dejected, and quickly added, "You can come, too, if you want."

"Seth has homework he needs to finish," Sue spoke for him, glaring at her son, "We really just came by to wish you a happy birthday and to drop off the cake. Happy birthday, Jacob."

"Thanks, guys."

"Take some of these cakes, Jacob," Sue instructed, handing him Rachel's untouched funfetti cake and the Clearwaters' red velvet one, "Keep them out there so Billy doesn't eat them."

Jacob nodded, and with a dessert in each hand, he headed off to the garage, Quil and Embry not far behind.

It was like old times. Jacob had parked the Rabbit in the garage, and more so out of habit than anything being wrong, he popped the hood and examined it. Quil and Embry settled on the old couch that they'd dragged in last summer and watched Jacob work, occasionally yelling out feedback as they saw it. The only difference was the amount of sugar they had on their plates. In the old days, Sue would have never given them almost two whole cakes, but with the whole werewolf thing, no one seemed to mind the amount of sugar they consumed.

"This cake is pretty good," Quil said with his mouth full.

"Which one?" Embry asked.

Quil pointed at the red velvet one, "That one."

"Dude, swallow before you speak next time," Jacob chastised.

"Leah didn't poison it?" Embry asked.

"Seth said he made it too, and he wouldn't have let Leah put any poison in it. Seth wouldn't hurt a fly." Quil cut himself another sizable piece, "Besides if I'm gonna die, death by cake isn't a bad way to go out."

"Death by poisoned cake isn't really Leah's style. She's more of the violent murder type. Poison is too subtle for her."

Embry shrugged and cut himself a piece of cake, "This is good!" he exclaimed after taking a bite, "Who knew those Clearwater siblings could bake?"

"They are related to Emily. And Harry wasn't a bad cook." Jacob leaned over and took a bite of the cake with his fork. It was good. Rich in flavor and moist, just the right texture.

"Yeah, but don't they always say that you need love as a secret ingredient? Something tells me Leah didn't put love into this."

"She's not as bad as I thought she would be. I mean I don't spend a ton of time in her head but when I do she's mostly just whining about the Cullens and that's not unreasonable," Quil commented.

"The distance from Sam was probably good for her," Embry remarked.

"Her dad died like seven months ago," Jacob added, "Remember how awful I was after my mom died? Her dad died, she turned into some freaky female werewolf and she had to spend a bunch of time with her ex-boyfriend. She really got the short end of the stick."

"Yeah, I didn't think about all that. I didn't really know Leah before. She was just one of those hot older girls who wouldn't give me the time of day," Quil laughed.

"Even before this Sue used to complain to my dad that she had an attitude problem," Jacob remembered, "She was a lot hotter before I was forced to spend so much time with her. But her attitude has improved a lot since she left Sam's pack. She's not that bad now."

"Nah, she's fine now," Embry agreed.

"She seemed pretty upset about the whole Rebecca thing, though."

"I think imprinting is still a touchy subject for her."

"Probably always will be."

They were silent for a couple of minutes while Jacob checked the oil levels on the Rabbit. Working together, they managed to demolish half of the funfetti cake, though it's quality paled in comparison to the Clearwaters' and Emily's. It was a good thing that Rachel was pursuing academia, and not baking.

"So you're going to Hawaii," Quil said after several minutes with a grin, "That's a sick present, man."

"Yeah, I wish I had a family member who could just give out tickets to Hawaii," Embry complained wistfully, "All my family is just up in Neah Bay. Not worth going to, even if it's free."

"I don't think it was Rebecca's plan to give me a plane ticket to Hawaii. I think that was just Rachel talking Rebecca into it 'cause she's so scared you'll imprint on Becca." Jacob looked at Embry as he said it.

"I wouldn't imprint on her," Embry stated firmly.

"It's not something you can control," Quil's face was unreadable as he spoke, "You might."

"Yeah, you have no way of knowing whether or not you'd imprint," Jacob agreed.

"I just wouldn't look at her. I'd go up to visit my grandma or something. I wouldn't do it."

"I don't know what would be worse if you imprinted on her or Brady or Colin."

On the one hand, Brady and Colin were just kids, and nd Rebecca would be very unlikely to leave her husband for one of them. What would happen when she went back to Hawaii and Brady or Colin were stuck here? On the other hand, Jacob wasn't in Brady or Colin's heads anymore – twice he'd fought with Paul after Paul hadn't managed to keep thoughts of Rachel out his mind. It was bad enough knowing that Paul and Rachel were having sex – being bombarded with images of it made Jacob wish he hadn't been born. And he wouldn't have to worry about that if Brady or Colin imprinted on Becca. She almost certainly wouldn't sleep with them, and even if she did, he wouldn't be in their heads.

"It's not like a guaranteed thing. Nobody's imprinted on Jared's sister, and you'd think she would be prime to pass on the wolf gene. And… " Embry paused for a second and looked around nervously.

"Just say it, man."

"She's in high school. She's age-appropriate. You'd think someone would have imprinted on her."

"My relationship with Claire is age-appropriate," Quil spoke up instantly, "I promise. I've never done anything to her, we always spend time together in public or with someone to supervise, I would never do anything to hurt her, I just want her to be happy, I promise…"

"We know, dude, we know," Jacob assured him, "But Embry's right. It would have made more sense for someone to imprint on Natalie than Nessie."

"Yeah, I guess…"

All of the imprinting stuff made such little sense. Rachel and Embry would be a naturally better fit than Rachel and Paul. Both were academic and smart. But it was Paul who was chosen by the fates for Rachel, not Embry.

Jacob couldn't bring himself to think of the other reason that Embry might not imprint on his sisters: if Embry was more than just a pack brother. If he was a blood brother, a half-brother. Jacob's memories of his parents' relationship were mostly happy, but Embry was only four months younger than him, and who knew what Jacob's parents' relationship was like before Jacob was born? They would have had twin toddlers, and Jacob figured that it was probably a stressful, chaotic time. But so stressful that Billy would cheat on his wife? Jacob didn't like to think about it, and he tried to push it out of his mind.

"Imprinting is just weird, man."

"You're telling us."

"Hey, it looks like the rain is letting up," Quil looked outside. Sure enough, there was a ray of sun was peeking through the clouds, "You guys wanna go cliff diving?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Let's do it!"

The three of them left the garage, running for the cliffs, leaving behind all talk of imprints and sisters and poisoned cakes in exchange for wordless fun.

-&-

"Jacob? Can you go to the office, please? The principal wants to speak with you." The classroom phone had rung approximately fourteen minutes into the chemistry test, and Mr. Johnson had answered it with a whispered tone. Jacob hadn't paid attention to the phone call; he was focused on answering the questions on the test that he knew the answer to or at least had a reasonable shot at. All five of them, "Bring your stuff. We can arrange a time to finish your exam later."

Quil and Embry looked up at him, Quil with a smirk on his face and Embry with a confused expression. Jacob just shrugged. He had no idea what this was about.

Other than ditching a _lot_ of school, Jacob couldn't think of a single rule he had broken lately. Sure his grades sucked, but they weren't as bad as Paul's and Paul had still managed to graduate.

The halls were empty as Jacob trekked to the office, his backpack slung on his back. As soon as he reached the office, the secretary told Jacob to take a seat outside of the principal's office.

Despite the elementary, middle, and high school being distinct sections, the main office for QTS was shared by all three and Jacob had been there many times. Still, though, he glanced around, looking for any changes. A few new posters advertising various events had been posted on the walls; some had already passed, but nobody had bothered to take them down. The plaque memorializing his mother stood out in the corner of his eye. _Sarah Black_ , it read, _beloved math teacher of Quileute Tribal School_ , followed by the years of her birth and death. Jacob had always hated seeing it; it was an unnecessary reminder of her death.

The principal, a short, balding man named Mr. Sewell, appeared from his office and took a seat in the chair next to Jacob. This meant that Jacob couldn't possibly be in that much trouble, not if Mr. Sewell wasn't going to bother bringing him into his office. Of course, that gave no clarity whatsoever as to what this could be about. What could be so important that Jacob would be taken away from his chemistry test?

"Jacob," Mr. Sewell started, staring nervously at the plaque on the wall, "Thanks for coming so quickly. I just received word from your father that your sister has been in a car accident."

The words hit Jacob like a ton of bricks. "Rebecca? Or Rachel?" No wonder Mr. Johnson was being so lenient about the test.

"Rachel. She's at Forks Hospital."

Jacob stood up immediately, "I gotta get to the hospital," he said numbly.

"Of course," Mr. Sewell agreed, "I can excuse you for the rest of the day."

"Billy – my dad – did someone pick him up, do you know?"

"It was Sue Clearwater who called. She said she was on the way to the hospital with your father."

"Jacob? Maybe someone should drive you?"

"No, no, I'm good. I don't need any transportation," Jacob rushed out the door to the office without bothering to come up with a flimsy excuse for how he was planning on getting to Forks. He waited just until he was in the woods, before stringing his backpack up on a broken tree branch, undressing, and phasing.

Jacob tore through the forest, running faster than he had in a long time. He knew the way to the hospital well. The mind link was empty of course; he was all alone. Jacob imagined Embry and Quil still in Mr. Johnson's class, taking their tests. He wondered if they knew any more of the answers than he did. Embry probably did, but Jacob guessed that Quil knew less.

Jacob kept close to the main road, far enough out where no one should be able to see him through the thick trees, but close enough where he could still see the pavement. At the three-way stop where the road to La Push dead-ended, he saw a crumbled Honda and a dented Hyundai. Rachel's. She'd been t-boned.

The knowledge only made him run faster. The accident didn't look bad, not like the one his mom had been killed in. But still, he was fearful. Realistically, Jacob knew that people from the reservation had probably gotten into car accidents since his mother died. There had to have been some fender benders, probably even some more major ones where someone needed stitches or had a broken bone. But it was seared into the memory of everyone on the res: Sarah Black had died in a car crash. And Jacob didn't want anybody to join that club.

In a testament to how fast he was running, he arrived at almost the same time as the Clearwater's old car. Jacob hurried to get Billy's chair from the trunk of their car. At the speed he was moving at, he had it unfolded and ready before Billy even unbuckled his seat belt.

"Thank you, son," Billy said as Jacob transferred him into his chair.

"Do you know anything?" Jacob asked.

"Deputy Kim was the one who called. He said she was conscious when he got to the scene." So Rachel wasn't dead on arrival at least.

"They'll let us know when we get in there," Sue said. She didn't stop to ask for directions as they entered the hospital and instead led them through the halls, past several nurse's stations, and offices.

"That… _thing_ better not be treating her," Billy grumbled as Jacob pushed him through the winding halls.

"Do you mean Carlisle?" Jacob asked.

"You know who I mean."

"You let him treat Jacob this summer," Sue pointed out mildly, "He's perfectly capable of treating Rachel."

"Rachel's human," Billy said quietly, "I don't want to take any chances."

"She'll be treated by whichever doctor is around," Sue said firmly. She had stopped in front of an ajar door. _BLACK_ read the whiteboard in all caps.

"Only three visitors in a room at a time!" A nurse called from down the hall.

"I know the rules, Christine!" Sue yelled back as she sat down on one of the chairs outside of the room, "You two go head."

Jacob knocked at the door, "Rachel? It's me and Dad."

Sam appeared at that moment and opened the door the rest of the way. He gave them a thin smile, and gestured for them to go in, "I'll wait outside with Sue."

Jacob pushed Billy inside.

"Rachel," Billy said softly.

Rachel was sleeping, though it didn't look like it was very peacefully. A large gash on her forehead had already been stitched up, and it looked like there was a brace on her right side. She didn't stir at Billy's mention of her name.

"Billy, Jacob."

It was then that Jacob noticed Paul standing beside her. Paul looked so bad that in that second, that Jacob wondered if maybe werewolves could get sick after all. Paul's face was flushed with worry and discolored. The bags under his eyes were always present, but today they were especially noticeable.

"Hey, Paul," Jacob said quietly.

Paul was shaking, but it seemed to be more out of anxiety than out of anger. He had his hand gently pressed again Rachel's, but Jacob couldn't tell if it was meant to comfort Paul or Rachel.

"Mr. Black," Dr. Gerandy thrust his way through the door at that second, closing the door loudly enough to make Rachel stir, "How are you doing? Rachel, how are you feeling? Any changes?"

"I'm fine!" Rachel said. She opened her eyes just slightly, "It was literally just a fender bender. There is no need for all this!"

"It was a little more than a fender bender, babe," Paul muttered beside her. His leg twitched as Rachel sat up.

She turned to face Jacob and Billy, "Dad? Jake? When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago."

"Didn't even notice you guys coming in."

"We gave her some morphine for the pain. It's making her a little loopy," Dr. Gerandy explained.

"That's an understatement," Rachel muttered, "Haven't felt this out of it in a _looong_ time. Since freshman year, at least."

Dr. Gerandy chuckled but otherwise ignored her statement, "Well, Miss Black, we got your x-rays back. Looks like you have a few broken ribs and your right elbow is broken. Nothing life-threatening, though. You'll be good as new by Christmas, I'd say."

"Great," Rachel mumbled, "I'll survive if this pain doesn't kill me first."

"We can get you something for the pain," Dr. Gerandy promised. He rattled off some further instructions, including promises about discharging her later that day. Before Dr. Gerandy left, Billy asked him whether or not he'd be the only doctor Rachel would be seeing, letting out a pacified noise of approval when Dr. Gerandy assured Billy that Dr. Cullen wasn't on duty that day.

"I should kill the moron that hit her," Paul seethed as soon as Dr. Gerandy left. His nervous shaking had transformed into anger shaking, "I wonder what room he's in…"

Sam took that second to reappear, "Paul, maybe we should take a quick walk?" he suggested.

"Go, babe," Rachel instructed, "I don't need you here and it's just upsetting you."

"I'll come back if you need me," Paul promised, looking down at her nervously, "I won't go far."

"I'll be fine. I'm just in pain. There's nothing you can do about that anyway."

As soon as Paul left, Sue entered and immediately went to Rachel's charts, "I'll talk to Dr. Gerandy about upping her pain meds."

"Just glad it wasn't that leech who was on duty. Couldn't imagine getting treated by him," Rachel shuttered.

Jacob laughed, "Exact same thing that Dad said," he said by way of explanation.

Rachel didn't respond to that and instead closed her eyes again. Sue sat down beside her, in the chair that Paul had been sitting in.

"How are you feeling, Rachel? Is there anything we can get you?"

"I'm starving," Rachel confessed, "The moron hit me at the beginning of my lunch break – I didn't even get a chance to eat! Fuck, I need to call my boss."

"Jacob, maybe you should go get some food for everyone? The cafeteria is closed from one-thirty to five but perhaps you could go into town. " Sue suggested, "I'll call the bank, Rachel, though I doubt they haven't heard about it yet."

"There's a Subway on the main street," Billy said as if Jacob hadn't spent his entire life in Forks. Jacob knew every restaurant in this town, but the expression on Billy's face was so strained that Jacob didn't mention it. Billy took out his wallet and gave Jacob a twenty.

"Can you check with Sam and see if he wants anything? Sam should probably stay here with Paul, just in case…" Sue reached into her purse and handed Jacob the keys to the Clearwaters' car and a handful of bills of her own, "Rachel, dear, what do you want from Subway?"

Jacob nodded hastily and wrote down everyone's orders on a piece of paper he found in his pocket. He found Sam and Paul (miraculously still in human form) just outside of the nearest door. Sam gave him another ten for their lunches, although Paul said that he felt too sick to eat. Sam told Jacob just to get Paul a ham sandwich, anyway.

"Jake! Jake!" Across the parking lot, Leah was waving her hands wildly. She hurried over to him and he couldn't help but notice that her signature tank top was slightly twisted. She must have just phased, "I just got off work! My mom left a note – I came as soon as I read it. Is Rachel okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Well, not fine. She needs some stitches and has a few broken bones but she's not gonna die or anything. The doctor said she'll be good as new by Christmas. She's just out of it right now."

"Oh, thank God. I was worried. I mean, after your mom and everything… God, it was hard enough when Sarah died." Leah took a breath and looked up at Jacob. Her expression convinced Jacob that Leah's concern was genuine, "Are you leaving?"

"I'm going to go get some food for everyone," Jacob explained, holding up the car keys, "You wanna come?"

In response, Leah snatched the car keys from him and took off to the car.

"Leah!" He complained but followed her.

"It's my family's car, Jake. I think that means I get to drive it."

Jacob grumbled, but agreed and opened the door to the passenger side of the Clearwaters' Corolla.

"Where are we going?" Leah adjusted the mirrors and the seat – she had quite a bit of height on her mother – before pulling into the main street.

"Subway," Jacob answered.

"Cool." Leah swung a left, heading straight for Subway, "Who all is there?"

"Right now, just your mom, my dad, Paul, and Sam. Everyone else is in school, I think. And Jared's on patrol."

"They'll probably all be here by the end of the day."

"Probably," Jacob agreed, "I'm surprised you came."

"I'm not that big of a bitch, Jake. I don't want bad things to happen to people. Well, most people. I don't want bad things to happen to your sister," Leah amended, "Besides, your sister is the best of the imprints. If I lose her, then I'm stuck with a bunch of little kids and love-struck girls. At least Rachel can admit that imprinting is pretty fucked up."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Don't I count for anything?"

"You're a guy, Jacob," Leah sighed, "You're supposed to be a wolf. At least the imprints are other girls. Even if it's a fucked up thing."

"I thought you wanted to imprint," Jacob said evenly.

Leah bit her lip in thought before answering, "It's not that I don't want to imprint. It's that I don't want to imprint on someone in a fucked up manner. Like, I don't want to ruin anyone's relationship. I don't want to imprint on some ugly loser who I would never normally date. I don't want to imprint on some little kid. And I most definitely do not want to imprint on some nasty half-vampire."

"So you only want to imprint if you could approve of the guy then?"

"Exactly." Leah parked the car right outside of the Subway and unbuckled herself, "So, no, I guess I don't really want to imprint."

They entered the restaurant and Jacob pulled out the crumpled piece of paper with everyone's orders. The poor lone employee groaned when they said they wanted seven different sandwiches, but within a few minutes their sandwiches were bagged up and they were back in the car, all with minimal complaining. It helped that Leah insisted on giving the change from Sam's ten to the worker as a tip.

"How's your dad doing with it all? It's gotta be scary for him." Leah pulled out and turned back on to the main street.

"He's stressed but he seems to be doing okay. His biggest concern was whether or not Carlisle would be treating her. Your mom is much better with the vamps than my dad is," Jacob commented, before explaining, "Billy freaked out at the mere idea of Dr. Fang seeing Rachel, but Sue can go to their house and hold the little demon and everything."

"It takes a lot to freak out my mom."

"I think Billy would have disowned me if I had imprinted on the vampire spawn."

"Mom's been surprisingly cool with it," Leah remarked, "She hasn't said anything about it to me or Seth."

"Thank God it was Seth and not me," Jacob muttered.

"Yeah, imagine how fucked up that would be? You were in love with the thing's mother and then you imprinted on her? That's some fucked up stuff, right there," Leah laughed.

"Yeah, that'd be unthinkable," Jacob shuttered at the idea of his world centering around the little half-leech.

Leah laughed again as she pulled into the parking lot of the hospital, "Lucky for you, she's sterile now. Maybe the next girl you fall in love with won't get knocked up by somebody else while you're still pining after her."

"Shut up, Leah."

"Next time, try falling in love with someone who isn't in love with somebody else."

He hit her arm, though not with his full strength, "And next time you should try falling in love with someone who isn't a werewolf and who might imprint and leave you for your cousin."

Leah unbuckled and got out of the car, Jacob following not far behind her. Her good mood seemed spoiled and Jacob wondered if he'd gone too far.

"I think my goal is not to fall in love with anyone anytime soon."

"It's a good goal," Jacob commented, relieved that she didn't seem upset, "Maybe I'll make it mine, too."

"Nice. An Alpha-Beta joint goal. No falling in love with anyone," Leah smiled at him – one of those brilliant smiles that so rarely graced her face.

"No falling in love," Jacob echoed. They were almost in Rachel's hallway now, and he could smell that Paul and Sam had gone back to see her again even before Jacob saw them.

"Rachel? It's me! We have food," Leah called out as she entered Rachel's room. She tossed Paul and Billy their sandwiches, while Jacob handed Sue and Sam theirs.

"Thanks for coming, Leah," Rachel muttered, "You made sure that the dork didn't get mine with mustard?"

"No mustard on yours."

"Thank God. He put mustard on my sandwich once when I was sixteen and I've never forgiven him for it."

"I was twelve!" Jacob protested.

"It scarred me for life," Rachel repeated. For the first time all day, Paul laughed. The mood had lightened considerably in Jacob's absence, now that it was clear that Rachel was going to be fine and was going home that day.

Everyone ate in silence, though the door to Rachel's room was now wide open, allowing the people just outside the room to be apart of what little conversation there was.

At some point, Sam excused himself to try to get a hold of Jared so he could let the rest of the pack know what was going on. Jacob knew he'd have to go phase soon, too, as school would be letting out and Quil and Embry would be curious as to what happened. Sue also excused herself, as she was apparently working that night, but she promised Billy that Charlie would be by soon to pick him up and bring him back to La Push.

"Jacob?" Rachel asked. She was calmer now, less agitated. The food and the pain medicine must have helped.

"Yeah, Rachel?"

"Will you be able to fix my car?"

Jacob laughed, remembering the crumpled Hyundai he'd seen on the side of the road, "I think it might be beyond repair. Sorry, Rach. But I can help you fix up a new one."

"Just as long as I don't have to pay an arm and a leg for a new one."

"You won't, I promise."

"Okay, good." Rachel leaned back against the bed again and closed her eyes, "You can go now."

"Bye, Rachel." Jacob went back to the woods, ready to phase and find out from Quil and Embry how the rest of the chemistry test had gone, pleased that his sister was going to be okay and he had more time to study. Pros and cons, just like every day. And overall, this hadn't been the worst day.


	8. Chapter 8

If there was a rule book for being a werewolf, Leah was pretty sure that phasing during the middle of a patrol to eat your lunch as a human would be against the rules. But since there wasn't a book, and no one had ever explicitly told her not to, Leah was standing naked, in the middle of the forest, scarfing down the three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches she had made herself for lunch as quickly as she could.

The cold November air whipped around her, but Leah felt fine. The much more annoying part was the rain, which was dropping on her hair and – more annoyingly – her lunch. That was part of the reason she ate as quickly as she could. The other reason was, even though no one had ever told her she couldn't take a lunch break while patrolling, it felt wrong.

Leah had started it a few weeks ago, during one of her daytime patrol shifts. The shifts were too long not to eat at all, and while everyone else just killed a rabbit or even a deer and ate it raw, Leah _hated_ that. It was so disgusting, so dehumanizing. And since she was the only one on patrol during the day, she'd decided to break the rules and start packing human food.

She packed her lunch the night before, after Sue and Seth had gone to bed, and left it in the woods with her clothes. So far, no one had questioned anything, and it seemed to work well.

When she finished eating, she shoved her old lunch box back into the shrubbery where she always kept it. Leah would pick it up tonight when she was off patrol. She didn't have a watch on her, but she was confident that it took less than five minutes to devour her lunch, and the packs left the reservation unpatrolled for more than five minutes at a time all the time.

Leah phased back to a wolf, and, as she expected, the pack mind was empty. Running among the trees, Leah kept her eyes and ears peeled for anything out of the ordinary, but, for the most part, it was all expected stuff. The most exciting thing that had ever happened was when she saw an injured hiker and got to temporarily phase back to human so she could call for help (ever since their many slipups in the spring, the Elders had been very strict on them trying to stay out of the way of any humans who might be wandering in the forest, unless it was an emergency). Other than that, it was just trees and the occasional deer. One time Quil claimed he saw a jaguar, but nobody really believed him.

As she ran, Leah considered everything she had to do. The holidays were fast approaching, and she had to figure out gifts for Sue and Seth. Sue had not gotten off her case about registering for classes for next semester, and Amy had asked if Leah could take her shift this weekend at the Resort, which Leah had agreed to do, not realizing she was supposed to patrol with Jacob. So she had to get someone to cover her patrol shift, which shouldn't be difficult but was just a matter of figuring out the right minion to ask. Not to mention that Leah still hadn't talked to Emily since the dress shopping disaster and she knew she'd have to face it eventually. What was the best way to say _Sorry I stormed out of your bridesmaid dress shopping event, but I realized that I'm actually okay with you marrying my ex because he isn't actually the guy I was in love because it turns out that guy doesn't exist anymore and your fiance is just a giant douchebag and not the sweet funny guy I once loved_? It didn't flow off the tongue like Leah wanted it to…

Suddenly, Leah caught a whiff of something sickly sweet. A bloodsucker, she realized immediately. Her mind instantly started spinning.

There wouldn't be a Cullen on this side of the line, and Leah could smell them so clearly that there wasn't a doubt in her mind: the bloodsucker was on this side of the treaty line. Plus it wasn't a scent that she recognized. It was fresh, Leah realized as she glanced around. She'd definitely passed that boulder earlier in the day, before lunch and she hadn't caught anything then. No, this was far too powerful to be anything but brand new.

After all those days of complaining, all the times she whined about why did they have to do daily patrols now that there wasn't any immediate danger, La Push had gone for so long without werewolves patrolling, the answer was right in her face, filling her nostrils. The danger would always be there.

Leah's howl pierced the air. For the first time, she saw the downside of two packs; if any of the guys from Sam's pack phased, she wouldn't be able to communicate with them. And the guys in Sam's pack were more likely to be able to drop whatever it was they were doing and phase than her fellow pack mates.

She howled again, silently begging Jake or one of his minions to phase. Not Seth, of course, but Quil or Embry would be perfectly acceptable at this point. She didn't want a repeat of the newborn mess.

In the distance, she heard the familiar rustle in the air. Someone was phasing.

_Jacob? Embry?_ She asked though she knew it was fruitless. She would have felt their presence in the bond, and Leah knew it was only her right now. Someone from Sam's pack, then. Maybe Jared? The Cameron's house was close to the woods, if he was home he'd almost certainly have heard her.

_Leah?!_ Jacob's voice pierced through the pack mind, though she immediately felt Embry and Quil's presence, too, _What's going on?!_

_Vampire scent. Fresh._

_Fuck._

All minds were reeling now. There was a panic in everyone's mind as they focused on running towards Leah, as she focused on her location in the woods and the scent she had.

_We're coming!_

_Guys? What's going on?_ Seth this time – fear evident in his thoughts.

_Vampire on the loose,_ Embry explained emotionlessly.

_Seth, stay away,_ Leah begged, though she knew it was useless. He had started running, too, but between the other wolves' head start and their longer legs, he wouldn't be able to keep up. Maybe she would be able to catch the vampire by then and keep Seth out of danger.

_Don't worry about me, Leah,_ Seth protested.

_Everyone quiet!_ Jacob commanded, _I need to try to reach Sam. Has he phased?_

_I heard someone phase earlier when I first howled, but it might have been Paul or Jared._ Leah paced back and forth. Her instincts told her to run, to try to reach the vamp, to tear the damn thing apart. But she had enough sense left in her to wait. She wasn't trying to die today, and a battle without anyone else to help her could be a suicide mission.

It was faint, but she could hear movement in the forest. Someone – or something – was coming. Before she could start panicking or even get into a defensive stance, Paul and Jared appeared out the woods. Relief washed through Leah at the sight of her former pack brothers.

Without the bond, it was difficult, but all three of them knew what to do now that they weren't alone: follow the scent. Leah took off, relishing in her position as the fastest, with Paul and Jared chasing behind her.

Leah could feel how hard Jake was concentrating, trying to reach out to Sam. Suddenly, like a bubble bursting, she could feel Sam's unwelcome presence in her mind again.

_Jacob? What's going on? Jared and Paul are chasing a vampire with Leah?_

_I know about as much as you do._ Jacob told Sam.

Leah was running fast enough and focusing hard enough that ignoring Sam and Jacob's conversation wasn't difficult, nor was blocking out the rest of the pack. Despite their presence, it was like she was alone, though it wasn't as scary as actually being alone. It was a comfort that she could actually hear herself think, but also know that if things went seriously south, they would still be able to reach her.

She'd lost Jared and Paul by now, though she had no doubt they were still following. The trail was even fresher; Leah knew she was close to the bloodsucker.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of blonde hair. Leah skidded to a stop and looked up at an unnaturally blonde leech perched up in the tops of a tree. An unintended howl left her lips; though she knew it didn't matter anymore if she was quiet or not. The leech knew where Leah was.

There were no words for this. Adrenaline flowed through Leah's veins as she got ready to jump. In the back of her mind, she could hear Jake and the boys barking and yelling in their thoughts. They were coming, she knew, but she focused on ignoring them and what was in front of her.

The leech jumped down from the tree and Leah lunged, but missed, causing Leah to stumble forward. As Leah regained her balance, the leech took off running again. Leah continued her chase, closer now than ever before. She'd catch the unnatural little bitch in no time.

_Don't let it get its arms around you,_ Jake warned, his voice interrupting her concentration for a second. Everyone else was silent – or maybe Leah had just tuned them out – and Leah could focus, really focus, on the blonde blob that she was following. Leah's feet led the way, as the leech made it closer and closer to the settled part of the reservation.

Without warning, the leech stopped and changed direction, making such a sharp turn that Leah almost toppled over as she turned to follow the leech. But the turn gave Leah an opportunity, and she lunged again. This time, Leah's teeth met the stone-cold body of the leech, and with a sharp pull, the arm popped right off. Unfortunately, the leech didn't hesitate and just kept running.

Not far away, someone let an angry howl, and Leah had no doubt that the entire pack knew that she'd gotten a piece of the leech. Their encounter and the leech's sudden change in direction had allowed Jared and Paul time to catch up, and she could see them now, Jared running slightly ahead, with Paul not far behind.

Leah rushed ahead, invigorated now. The sharp turn the leech made had taken them away from the reservation, away from the helpless humans, and closer to the treaty line, but she was confident that, with Jared and Paul here now, they could take down the leech. The last thing Leah wanted was to lose her and set off some wild goose chase like there'd been for the evil redhead leech when she had first phased.

The bloodsucker slowed down slightly, and glanced behind her, before looking over the river that marked the treaty line. It almost seemed to sense that they were near the treaty line. For a fleeting second, Leah wondered if they were possible a friend of the Cullens. Leah hadn't gotten a good look at its eyes, so it was impossible to know.

_Even if they're a friend of the Cullens, they've crossed the line. The treaty is void now,_ Embry seethed.

_Have you seen them before, Seth?_ Jacob asked. Leah continued her pursuit, with Paul and Jared not far behind. She had almost reached the thing; she could almost lunge again.

_No,_ Seth confirmed nervously, although Leah could see that he was trying to think of the vampire friends of the Cullens that had recently come for a visit. They'd left already, though, gone back to Alaska or wherever it was they were from.

_Get her, Leah!_ Quil cheered.

_We're almost there,_ Jacob assured her.

The bitch was fast, faster than Leah even. She still had the bloodsucker's arm in her mouth, she was too afraid that the leech would be put back together if she kept it anywhere but safely in her grasp.

_Drop the arm, Leah, I'll pick it up._ Seth volunteered. He was quite a bit behind Quil, Embry, and Jacob, his late start and shorter legs hindering him.

The arm fell from Leah's mouth – the vampire stuff never got less weird – and continued sprinting with all her might. Paul had fallen behind, but Jared was only seconds behind. With a final push, Leah reached out and managed to grasp a strand of her blonde hair. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to slow her down just a touch and startle her into changing directions – forcing her to u-turn straight into Jared's path.

Jared dived and went for the leech's legs, tripping her. She stumbled forward, allowing Leah time to jump and soar over the leech, landing right beside her. Leah took the leech's throat in her nuzzle, as Jared grabbed the legs. They didn't need to be in each other's head to know what to do. They both pulled, and the leech's body came apart into a thousand tiny stone pieces.

_Nice one, Leah!_ Seth crowed.

_Good job, Leah,_ Embry echoed, _That was impressive!_

_Yeah, Leah, that was badass!_ Quil agreed.

_Thanks, guys._

_You made that look easy, Leah,_ Jake complimented her, _Good job. Sam had Brady stop by and grab a lighter. We'll be there soon._

Paul, Jared, and Leah got to work picking up the tiny little leech pieces. It was only moments later that Sam arrived, and he immediately started gathering wood for a fire. Jacob, Quil, and Embry weren't far behind, helping with gathering the tiny pieces of the leech.

Already, the parasite was attempting to put herself back together. Tiny little pieces of bloodsucker flew through the forest, all gravitating towards each other, like the sickening, unnatural thing she was. Between catching the fluttering pieces and the awful scent that made them impossible to miss, the task wasn't hard, just tedious.

_Is Brady almost here?_ Leah asked. She heard Jacob repeat the question to Sam.

_He's coming with Colin,_ Jacob confirmed, _You got the arm, Seth?_

_Right here!_ Seth was trotting up, the entirety of the leech's arm in his mouth. He placed it in the center of what was quickly becoming what would be a sizable fire.

They all worked together to put the pieces of the bloodsucker into the fire pit, and as soon as Brady arrived, carrying in his mouth a shopping bag with a lighter in it, Sam phased without warning and ignited the fire. Despite the rain, the venom made it ignite quickly, and within seconds, the fire was roaring in seconds, hot and popping.

_Do you guys smell that?_ Embry asked.

_More leeches!_ Quil answered immediately.

Leah sniffed the air; she too could smell the sickly sweet scent of leeches. This time, however, it was familiar.

_It's one of the Cullens,_ she growled, _Maybe even two of them._

_Awfully close to the treaty line, aren't they?_ Embry mused.

_It's just Carlisle and Edward,_ Seth said quickly, _They won't cross the line without permission._

_Look away, Leah. I'm phasing._ There was a gush of air as Jacob returned to his human form.

Leah pointedly looked up, keeping her eyes trained on the other side of the river, where, sure enough, Dr. Fang and the mind reader came hurrying over the over. On top of a boulder, they stood in easy listening distance of the two packs. Edward had his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, while Dr. Fang had a tense smile on his.

The two Alphas stood together, aligned for the first time. The two tallest members of the pack, the two largest wolves. Although their backs were turned to Leah, she had to admit that it was an intimidating sight.

"Stop," Sam commanded, even though they had already come to a halt.

"We'll stay on this side of the line," Dr. Fang assured everyone.

Nonetheless, Leah heard someone in the other pack – Paul most likely – whine in protest, "Did something happen?"

_What a stupid question,_ Leah thought. The fire was still burning and there was no doubt in Leah's mind that they too could smell the remnants of the parasite that was burning.

"We caught and destroyed a trespasser."

"Irina," Edward said, "I can see it in Leah's mind."

_Get out of my head!_ Leah snarled, both in her head and out loud. Quil let out a similar snarl, equally angry at the intrusion.

"She crossed the treaty line," Jacob said coldly.

"Of course," Carlisle said solemnly, "I understand protecting your people must come first and foremost."

"This won't cause any problems, will it?" Sam asked, "Or should we expect retribution from a mate?"

Edward shook his head, "No. Irina was looking for revenge after you killed her mate, Laurent, last spring. Her sisters knew that this was a possibility. They'll be upset, but they won't seek revenge. They've met Seth and like him, not to mention that they won't want to upset Nessie."

"We'll deal with them," Carlisle promised, "We assure you there won't be any further intrusions."

"Good. Is that all then?" Jacob's voice had no warmth in it; he made it clear that the Cullens were unwelcome.

"No, we heard the noise and just wanted to see what was happening," Dr. Fang spoke with confidence, "We'll return to our home now."

Edward seemed to survey the two packs before he turned to leave, no doubt soaking up all the information from their thoughts that he could, the nasty creature that he was. How anyone could stand him always in their minds, Leah wasn't sure.

The fire continued to burn, with both Jacob and Sam minding it and feeding it as necessary. Despite the rain, the fire burned well from all the venom. As the fire began to die, both Jake and Sam took turns looking for any surviving pieces, while Jared and Leah both did the same around the fire. Brady and Quil had circled back to where Leah had dropped the arm to do the same, but all were satisfied that the leech was gone once and for all.

Sam turned to face the two packs, "Perhaps we should debrief? We can meet at Emily's after we pick up our clothes."

"The Clearwaters'," Jacob said before Leah could complain, "We can meet at the Clearwaters'."

Sam looked from Jacob to Leah suspiciously, before agreeing, "Okay. We'll meet at the Clearwaters'."

"Good," Jacob's voice matched the finality that Sam's had had moments before. Leah felt a gush of air as he phased back into a wolf.

_I thought you'd rather go to your house, Leah._ Jacob said as soon he was back in the bond.

It wasn't like Leah hadn't been over to Emily's (she still wasn't sure why they all called it Emily's when it was clear that Sam lived there too – not that that was the point) since she'd phased. She'd been over there several times, all since phasing. But it was nice to think that she wouldn't have to face Emily fretting over Sam putting himself in danger again, not that he'd come close to any danger this time around. He had managed to avoid all the action.

_There's more room,_ Jacob continued, when Leah didn't respond. All five of them had begun to trot back to where they had left their clothes; Leah by her illicit lunch spot and the boys by the school.

_Yeah, but Emily's always has food,_ Quil pointed out.

_There's way more room at the Clearwater's place, though,_ Embry agreed.

_Plus it's easier for me and Leah!_ Seth chimed in happily.

_You don't have to avoid going to Emily's just for me,_ Leah thought finally. She would have to face Emily eventually, though it would be easier to do it when there weren't nine other people around.

_It's not just for you, it's for all of us. There's more room at the Clearwaters' place and we all live closer to it._ Jacob was lying; that much was clear. His excuses were lame, but it was almost touching to see him looking out for her like that.

_You warm my ice-cold heart,_ Leah muttered. She had reached the area of the woods where she had left her clothes, _I'll see you guys at the house._

She phased back to human and slipped on her clothes. The lunch box she'd pack stayed under the bush as she hurried back to her house. No need to let everyone know that she'd been eating lunch as a human. There would be enough attention on her today.

No one else had made it to the Clearwater house when she arrived. Using the key she kept stuffed in her pocket, she unlocked the door and let herself in, hearing the racket of nine other wolves not far behind her.

The Clearwater's house was modest, for sure, but it was one of the bigger ones of the reservation. They had a whole four bedrooms – one of them was a tiny guest bedroom, granted, but it was still an extra bedroom that most families didn't have – and their kitchen and living room could comfortably fit a fairly large party. But with 10 large werewolves in it, the house still felt small, especially when they were all stuffed into the living room.

There was one large couch and one love seat in the Clearwater living room and Leah took her seat at the corner of the large couch as she watched all of the wolves trail in. Sam awkwardly looked around before taking the same place on the loveseat that he'd always sat in, in the times before everything wolf had happened. Jared immediately sat next to him, taking what was once Leah's seat. Their stance was nowhere near as intimate as Leah and Sam's had always been, of course.

Somehow, almost the entirety of Jake's pack forced their way on to the larger couch, Leah next to Jake, Jake next to Quil, Quil next to Embry, and Seth sitting on the arm of the couch in a way that Leah knew Sue would yell at him for if she happened to walk in. Leah could feel Jacob's legs pressed next to her, the heat of his body burning next to hers.

Paul sat in the armchair, and Brady and Colin let out identical groans as they walked in later than everyone else and realized they'd be sitting on the floor.

"So…" Jacob began after Brady and Colin had sat down on the floor by Sam and Jared. He gestured vaguely, before putting his hands purposefully in his lap.

"We should debrief," Sam repeated.

Was a debrief really necessary? Was any of this shit really necessary? Leah shook her head and tried not to show her annoyance.

"What happened, Leah?" Sam asked when nobody else said anything.

"What happened is I was on my patrol and I smelled a fresh vampire trail, so I howled and everyone came running and Jared, Paul and I all chased the stupid little bloodsucker until we destroyed it. Right, guys?"

Paul and Jared both nodded, though neither made eye contact with her.

"That's all. That's what happened." Leah finished with a sly smile. She knew Sam wanted gory details, but he could relive those in Jared and Paul's heads if he so desired.

"Did she say anything?" Sam pressed, "Give any type of details for what she wanted?"

"No," Leah said simply.

"I don't think this is like Victoria, Sam. Victoria was clearly after Bella and didn't mind playing sick games to get her." Jacob's voice was tense as he spoke, "This is the first time we saw this bloodsucker on our land, and I trust the Cullens when they say there won't be any problems. We did kill that male leech earlier this year."

"Do we trust the Cullens, though?" Paul asked.

"I do," Seth spoke up, but his voice was quiet, "I trust them. They didn't lie to us during the newborn battle. We've worked with them before."

"Seth's right," Jared said, "We don't really have any reason not to trust them."

"Sue's here," Paul muttered. They could all hear the car approaching the house, and shortly after, the car door slamming. Seth slid off the arm of the couch and sat on the floor at Embry's feet.

"What in the world is going on here?" Sue demanded the second she opened the door. Her eyes scanned the packs, narrowing when she saw Sam. "Why is everyone here?" she asked urgently, more worry evident in her tone now, "Did something happen?"

"There was a vampire that crossed the treaty line," Sam answered, "We destroyed it."

"It was all Leah," Jared remarked, "She tracked the leech, she tore the damn arm of the thing, she tricked it so we could corner it."

If Leah wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of a proud smile on Sue's face, "And the Cullens know about this?"

"It was apparently a friend of theirs," Sam answered in his deep voice again, "But we've worked it out with them. There shouldn't be anything else."

"Have you told Billy and Old Quil about this?" Sue asked.

Sam shook his head, "Not yet. We were just having a quick debrief before we let you and the other Elders know."

"We were just finishing up when you came in. Is there anything else we need to, ahem, debrief on, Sam?" Jacob had a sly smirk on his face.

"The patrol schedule - "

"We can discuss that at the next meeting with the Elders. It doesn't need to change for now." Leah was surprised at how much Jacob sounded like _the_ Alpha at that moment. There was no doubt as to who was really in charge. "Is there anything else you wanted to discuss, Sam? If not, then you can go talk to Old Quil and I'll go talk to my dad and let them know what happened."

It was plainly obvious to everyone, not just Leah, that Sam had more he wanted to discuss, but the sharpness in Jacob's tone forced him to reconsider, "Yeah, I'll go do that. Jared, you want to come with?"

"Sure." Jared stood up, and Sam quickly followed him to the door.

"Thanks for letting us use your house, Mrs. Clearwater," Sam smiled at Sue as he left. What a kiss ass, Leah thought to herself.

"I gotta get back to work," Paul muttered, standing up to follow Jared and Sam to the door, "Thanks for having us, Clearwaters."

Brady and Colin made their excuses as well and followed the rest of their pack out the Clearwater's door. This left just Jacob's pack, who took advantage of the space left by Sam's pack and spread out. Jacob stayed on the couch, next to Leah, but his legs were no longer pressed against hers. It was impossible not to notice the absence of his warm body next to her.

"Well," Sue said with a grim smile, "At least we know the packs can work together."

"And we know that the Cullens' won't kill us if we kill their friends," Seth added, "Another plus."

"I should hope your future in-laws don't slaughter you," Leah muttered under her breath.

"Leah," Jake warned, but Leah could hear the smile in his voice.

"Nah, it's a good thing to know," Embry agreed with Leah, "You're their mortal enemy. Now you know that they'll side with you over a member of their own species. It's reassuring to know."

"The Cullens won't kill you, Seth," Jacob said with confidence.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Sue said, "Now, Jacob, didn't you just tell Sam you'd let Billy know what happened?"

"This your way of getting us out of your house, Sue?" Jacob asked with a grin.

"Unless you want to cook for us all, Jacob, it's my way of saying that I have dinner to get ready and I'm guessing that Seth has homework to do," Sue answered, "Would you like to cook?"

"I'll go talk to my dad." Jacob held his hands up as he stood up. Embry and Quil, his most loyal minions, stood up, too.

"Thanks for letting us use your house!"

"Thanks, Mrs. Clearwater!"

"Good job today, Leah," Jacob smiled at her as he closed the door behind him, "You did a really good job."

Despite herself, Leah beamed with pride.

-&-

For a college campus, Peninsula Community College was dead. It shouldn't have been too surprising, seeing as it was a Friday afternoon, but Leah was one of four patrons in the large campus coffee shop. Everyone else had their laptops open or textbooks and were studying, but Leah had nothing except a folder of fliers and her class schedule for next semester that her advisor had given her.

After realizing that the deadline to register for classes was rapidly approaching (and after much hassling from Sue), Leah had made the trek to the Peninsula Community College to meet with the same advisor she'd first met with long ago when she first graduated from high school. Her advisor was overly enthusiastic about Leah's return and kept talking about how this could be a "new leaf" for Leah and a chance to try again. Even when Leah admitted she still had no idea what she wanted to study, her advisor promised her that that was normal, and maybe that this new Leah who was on this new leaf would find a new interest. Not knowing what else to do, Leah signed up for nearly all the same classes that she had dropped last spring after she first phased, although her advisor assured her she would be able to make changes for a while still.

Leah had caught a ride with Sue, who had a dentist appointment in Port Angeles that afternoon. While Leah's meeting with her advisor had gone quickly, Sue's dentist appointment was taking longer. So Leah sat in the coffee shop, waiting for her mother like a thirteen-year-old.

Leah desperately needed a car. She had a few thousand left in savings from working at the Resort and her time working at the Ateara's store, but she had been planning on using that tuition. Even living at home, there was no way to avoid loans, so she knew she could always take out more of them, if necessary. Last year, she'd been able to borrow her dad's car, but they'd sold Harry's truck to help pay off medical bills after his heart attack. Running as a wolf, though much faster than driving, was inconvenient when Leah had schoolbooks and an incentive to wear something other than a tank top and jean shorts.

Leah wondered if Jake would be willing to fix up a car for her. Leah had met Rachel in Forks for lunch on Tuesday, and Rachel's crumbled Hyundai had been replaced with a Kia that had cost Rachel a mere $3000 - $2000 for the old thing itself and $1000 for parts for Jake to fix it up. Between her new car and the assurances from her latest doctor's visit that she'd be able to go to Hawaii in the spring, Rachel was thrilled and in a great mood. She even treated Leah to lunch, her giant wolf appetite, and all, so happy she was with the savings.

Jacob liked fixing cars up, so Leah was reasonably confident that if she provided the parts, then Jacob would provide the labor. He'd done it for Bella just last year, and Jacob and Bella barely knew each other back then. Leah thought her and Jacob's newfound friendship had progressed far enough where he'd do it without a second thought, though they still snapped at each other on nearly a daily basis.

Leah looked around the café. She'd told her mother that she'd be waiting there, although Leah had no idea that it would take so long. Another customer had left, leaving Leah one of three people in the place, excluding the barista. There was a pile of newspapers on the counter, and Leah realized that she might as well peruse the classifieds and see if there were any cars she might want while she was waiting for her mom.

"How much for this?" Leah held up a copy of the Port Angeles Tribune and waved it at the barista. Danny, his nametag read.

"It's the end of the day. You can just have it," he offered her, "You want anything else to drink?"

"Nah, I'm good."

"It's on the house." Danny winked at her.

"I'm good," she reiterated, before adding, "Thanks, though."

"Let me know if you change your mind," he said with a pleasant smile.

Leah narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. It had been months since anyone had treated her like a woman, like a person who used to be attractive. And she had been beautiful, if she could say so herself, back when she had her long hair and weighed forty pounds less. But she was so used to grouchy teenage boys who just saw her as a freaky girl-wolf that the flirting made her suspicious. She stalked out of the coffee shop, not wanting to take her chances at humiliation.

The rain had paused, at least for the time being. Even with only a thin sweater, Leah was perfectly fine in the cold November air, so she sat down and waited for Sue. She flipped through the newspaper, searching for the classifieds.

"Leah? I thought that was you!" Kim smiled at Leah as she crossed the parking lot away from her car.

"Hey, Kim."

"What are you doing here?" Kim asked, standing next to Leah

Leah gestured to her papers and orientation packet, "I registered for classes for next semester."

"And now you're just sitting here?"

"I'm waiting for my mom." There was something about saying the words as a twenty-year-old old that made Leah cringe. Her life was really, truly some type of joke.

"I can give you a ride home if you want," Kim offered politely.

It didn't actually sound awful, sitting in the car with Kim for over an hour driving back to La Push. Maybe Leah really was going soft. But Leah had no way to contact Sue, and Sue's dentist appointment should really be over any minute now. At least she hoped so.

"That's okay, my mom should be here soon."

"Did something newsworthy happen in Port Angeles?" Kim gestured at the paper.

"Huh? Oh, this. No, I'm actually looking at the classifieds… I'm thinking about buying a car."

"Oh, that's exciting! Is there like a certain type you're looking for?"

"Just something cheap. I'm thinking about asking Jacob for help repairing one or whatever."

"I'm sure he will, I mean you two are pretty close now, aren't you?"

Leah stared at Kim, "I… I guess so."

"I just always see you two around La Push together, that's all."

"We're in the same pack and I'm the Beta, so we have to go to the meetings together, just like Sam and Jared."

"Oh, that's right," Kim flushed a little bit, before she changed the subject, "Do you know what classes you're taking yet?"

"This is what I'm signed up for currently," Leah grabbed the sheet her advisor had given her from the folder and offered it to Kim. Without invitation, Kim sat down beside her and started studying it.

"I have Dr. Hernandez now, I like her a lot," Kim said as she looked at the sheet.

"I might change these classes," Leah warned, "If I happen to figure out what I want to study between now and then."

"You don't know either? I'm so glad I'm not the only one. Jared always talks about how he's just planning on running his parents' restaurant and how I can just help him out with that. But I'm not sure, I think I might want to do something else, you know? Like he gets to go out and fight -" Kim lowered her voice, " - vampires, but I'm stuck inside helping Emily bake or taking these stupid classes. And I hate just sitting around. I could never work in an office. I want to do something on my feet. But I bet you're like Jared, you don't really want excitement, do you?"

Leah chuckled at Kim's little speech. It was the most she'd ever heard the girl speak, "No, I really don't. Something boring would be fine."

"You could always be an accountant. My dad's an accountant and I've always thought it was the most boring job around."

Leah considered this for a second. She'd never thought of being an accountant before, "Does he like it?"

Kim shrugged, "He doesn't hate it. It pays the bills. He was home in time for dinner almost every day. It's a job."

"Sue's a nurse and she's always on her feet," Leah said after taking a good look at Kim. Kim's eyes had lit up during her little speech, giving her more life, "If you're looking for a job where you don't sit behind a desk."

"I know, I've spoken to her about it once or twice. I've thought about it, but I'm just not sure yet. I'm only eighteen, you know? It seems so young to make a decision like this."

"You know who you're going to marry though, don't you?" The harsh statement came out of Leah's mouth before she could stop it.

Kim shrugged, not at all offended by Leah's words, "Fate or God or the spirits or whatever you want to call it chose Jared for me. I trust their pick. If they could pick my career for me too, then I would love that. But I can see why you don't have the same trust in them. Look, isn't that your mom?"

Sure enough, Sue's car was pulling into the parking lot. Leah immediately stood up, unsure of what to say to Kim. Lucky for her, Kim spoke first.

"It was good to talk to you, Leah. I think we have class at roughly the same time on Tuesday and Thursday. We could carpool if you want. I know you don't like me very much but it could be nice to save gas money." Kim handed Leah back her paper and stood up, too, stepping off the curb and into the parking lot.

"I don't hate you, Kim." It was true, Leah didn't hate Kim. She didn't particularly like her, but she didn't particularly _dislike_ her either.

"I don't hate you, either, Leah," Kim called back with an amused smile as she crossed the parking lot, "Just let me know if you want to carpool!"

"I will," Leah promised as Sue pulled up.

"Was that Kim Connweller?" Sue asked as Leah climbed into the car. Leah buckled up and placed her bag at her feet, but kept her schedule in her hands, still studying it. Her advisor had written the words "New leaf!" on the top of it in some type of stupid motivation attempt.

"Yeah, it was," Leah answered.

"I didn't realize she was taking classes here. What did she have to say?"

"She just wanted to know what I was doing here and my class schedule for next semester. She mentioned carpooling next semester," Leah said casually.

"Would you want to do that?" Sue asked cautiously.

Leah thought about it for a moment, "Maybe."

"I'm sure you can give her an answer after you've had some time to think about it. What classes did you sign up for?"

As Leah told her mother about her classes and her meeting with her advisor, she also considered Kim's offer. Although Leah's first thought was to turn Kim down, she also realized that, even if she did end up buying a car, Kim was right, it would be nice to save some gas money.

Her advisor had stressed that it was a new leaf, a new semester. A new semester, a new Leah. Maybe a new Leah wouldn't hate all the imprints on principle. Rachel certainly wasn't bad and neither was Kim, evidently. And in some weird ways, Leah did miss Emily. It would be her own private resolution then: to try to start over with a new attitude. But she wouldn't tell anyone. She couldn't let anyone know she'd gone soft. A new leaf, a new semester, and a new Leah. It was a good goal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry for the late update! Weekly updates are my goals but unfortunately this chapter was very difficult for me to write and my life has been a little crazy so this is a bit late. The next chapter will also be late as I am going out of town next weekend but after that I will try to get back to weekly updates.
> 
> I just wanted to say thank you for all the incredible feedback I've gotten, it really means the world to me! Seriously it makes me so happy. I did have someone worry that we won't get to see Leah and Jacob together, but please do not worry as we will have several chapters where they're together so you have that to look forward to!
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts!


	9. Chapter Nine

"Jacob! Phone!"

Jacob stumbled out of his room, only somewhat awake. It was the first day of winter break, and instead of spending it in bed, Jacob had plans with Quil and Leah to go look at some car she found on Craigslist in Hoquiam. Jacob was skeptical, he couldn't lie, but Leah had asked him and he didn't want to turn her down. And Rachel had splurged for a car that needed nothing more than a tire rotation and an oil change, so it would be nice to have a car to work on again, assuming Leah bought this one.

Despite the early hour (okay, it was already ten, but it felt early. Quil, Embry, and Jacob had celebrated the first night of break with a night of Call of Duty and enough beer to kill the average person. They recently discovered that the guy at the 7-11 in Forks was new in town and didn't even think to card them. Regrettably, due to their high metabolism, they didn't even get buzzed, so it was just a waste of money), Paul was already sitting on the Black's couch, Rachel beside him. He had his arm around her, and she was looking at him adoringly.

"It's Quil," Billy glared at Paul as he handed Jacob the phone.

"Wazzup?" Jacob never bothered with formalities when talking to Quil or Embry.

"Yo, Jake, I got some bad news."

"What is it?"

"Emily just called. She's watching Claire and her sister today and they both have a cold and Claire won't stop crying. Emily wants me to come over and help babysit," Quil explained. Jacob could hear the worry in his voice, "So I can't make it. Sorry, man."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Hope Claire feels better." By now, being ditched for imprints was nothing new. Jacob had been happy when Quil hung out with him and Embry last night instead of with a literal child like Seth had done.

"Thanks, Jake. You're a good guy. You should stop by afterward, I'll probably still be hanging out at Emily's. She hasn't seen you in a while, last time I spoke to her she mentioned that she missed you and Embry."

"Yeah, maybe I will." Jacob was sure not to make any promises, lest he end up breaking one. But he hadn't seen Emily in a while and she was sure to have muffins...

"Have fun, Jake!" Quil said cheerfully, although Jacob could still sense a hint of worry in his voice.

"You too," Jacob echoed before he realized what he saying. Babysitting a sick toddler couldn't possibly be much fun.

"I will!" Quil was just as cheery as before; he would have a good day with Claire, even if she was snotty and cranky.

The dial tone filled Jacob's ear. Jacob placed the phone back in the cradle and looked at Billy, who had moved to the table but was still glaring at Paul.

"Quil cancel?" Billy guessed.

"Yep. Claire's sick and I guess he feels bad leaving her."

"What a loser," Paul muttered. Paul said it, but Jacob was thinking it.

"Hey! You're spending the day hanging out with me!" Rachel protested.

"Yeah, but you're a hot, older woman, not some toddler." Paul reached over to kiss Rachel in a less than PG way.

Billy cleared his throat loudly and Paul and Rachel moved apart, "But Leah's still going, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she's the one who's thinking about buying a car."

"Great, then you can drop me off at the Clearwaters when you pick her up," Billy said with a sly grin.

Jacob laughed, "If you're lucky, old man."

Thirty minutes later, though, Jacob was trading Billy for Leah, who was surprisingly happy, even after she learned that Quil had ditched them to hang out with Emily and Claire.

The Rabbit hummed along as Jacob drove off of the reservation, honking when he passed Jared who had Kim sitting in the front seat next to him. Even Leah waved, a true testament to her good mood.

"So what are we looking at today?" Jacob asked as he turned on to the highway. Running as a wolf would be much faster, but Leah had complained that she needed a purse to carry her checkbook and pointed out that she would need to drive back if she ended up buying the car. Jacob had argued that just because she would have to drive back, didn't mean he should have to, but the look she gave him was enough to convince him to drive both ways.

"It's a 1995 Ford Taurus," Leah told him, "I found it on Craigslist and I emailed the man and he said it's in good condition. But I warned him I was bringing a mechanic friend to check it out. You'll be able to tell if he's lying, won't you?"

"Should be able to."

"Good. I don't want to be swindled into getting some lemon from a stranger off the internet."

"I'll make sure you don't get a lemon," Jacob assured her, "And besides, girls can't go meet strangers from the internet alone."

Leah hit his arm and scowled. Unlike the average person, Leah could hit hard enough to hurt, and there was a pulsing sting where her fist had connected to his arm.

"I'm not being sexist!" Jacob protested, "It's true! Girls should not go off and meet up with people in real life that they only know from the internet! It's dangerous! There are predators out there!"

"It worked out fine for your sister."

"We don't know that. Other than Rachel, none of us have ever met his Solomon guy. For all we know he beats her and they're homeless and live on the beach. That's why we're going to Hawaii, remember? So Becca can show Billy that she has a nice life there."

After Rachel and Rebecca had pulled off scholarships to their respective schools, Billy had consented to them blowing a bunch of money on a senior trip to Hawaii. They spent five whole days there, and only Rachel came back. Rebecca had eloped with her internet boyfriend after meeting him in person and falling deeply in love, something that no one, not even Rachel, had seen coming ("I knew she was meeting some internet boyfriend she had," Rachel had wailed, "but I didn't think she would marry him!"). Everyone had waited for their inevitable divorce or annulment, but it had been nearly three years now and Rebecca and Solomon were still going strong.

"Well _I_ can go meet people off the internet if I want," Leah shot back, "I don't need you or anyone else to go protect me."

"Yeah _you_ can, cause you'd go fucking postal on them if they even look at you funny." Jacob had to admit that he wouldn't be opposed to seeing Leah kick some guys' ass if he tried to flirt with her. It might even be kinda hot, watching Leah beat some poor schmuck up, if she could figure out a way to do it without revealing her superhuman strength, "But that's why I'm here. To make sure you don't go postal and reveal our secret to a bunch of pale faces."

"Whatever." Jacob could hear the displeasure in Leah's voice, but he could tell she wasn't truly upset. Surely she had to realize that most women could not really meet a stranger off the internet in person without fearing for their life.

Nearly an hour later, after a ride full of pleasant conversation, Jacob pulled into a parking lot of an abandoned warehouse on the north side of Hoquiam. No one else was there; the parking lot was empty save for the Rabbit.

"This is the place?" he asked skeptically.

"This is the place," Leah confirmed nervously.

They both sat in the car in an awkward silence, their jovial conversation halted as they waited for the seller and the car to arrive.

"We agreed to meet at two," Leah muttered, breaking the silence for the first time. The clock read 2:13.

By 2:24, the pair was starting to get a bit restless. Neither had said a word since Leah had spoken earlier, although Jacob had turned off the Rabbit shortly after they realized that they would be waiting for a while. There was no radio, no noise whatsoever, except the sound of their breathing and the traffic on the road behind them.

At 2:27, two cars pulled up to the parking lot, including a black Ford Taurus. Both Jacob and Leah immediately unbuckled. Leah muttered under her breath about timeliness and how rude the sellers were as they got out of the Rabbit. After walking across the parking lot, they introduced themselves to the pair of drivers, two guys in their thirties or forties named Steve and Mark. It was Mark who owned the car, and after Leah took a good look at the car, inspecting it for aesthetic purposes, she put Jacob to work, inspecting it for safety and mechanical purposes.

As he popped the hood and began to ask questions about the engine and the history of the vehicle, Leah stood back and made small talk with Steve. Their conversation started innocently enough, but it wasn't long before it took a turn for the worse.

"Your boyfriend knows quite a bit about cars," Jacob heard the man remark to Leah as Jacob examined the brakes.

"He's not my boyfriend," Leah scoffed.

"Oh really? Just a friend then?" It was impossible to miss the interest in his voice. Jacob looked up over his shoulder; Leah was scowling openly and had her arms crossed against her chest, but she wasn't shaking or trembling. He tried to refocus on the engine, but he couldn't help but listen in on the conversation that Leah was having with Steve.

"Just a friend," Leah confirmed.

"Are you from around here?" the man asked.

"No."

"Where are you from?" Jacob couldn't tell if this Steve fellow was suicidal or just plain stupid.

"La Push."

"Where?"

"La Push. Small town a few hours away from here."

"Come down here often?"

"No." There was no mistaking the virulence in Leah's voice.

"You should stay for dinner. My treat. You can send your friend back with his old beater and we can take your new car for a test ride."

"No."

"There's a great steakhouse not too far from here. A pretty girl like deserves a nice dinner." The man had a death wish, Jacob decided.

"Come on, Jacob!" Leah called, "We're leaving!"

"You don't want the car?" Steve asked, sounding genuinely surprised. It hardly seemed possible that he had missed the conversation his friend was having with Leah.

"No, I don't want your stupid car!" Leah cried mockingly. Jacob jogged across the parking lot. Mark, the owner of the car, was following him, huffing that he didn't understand what was wrong and arguing that the car was in perfect shape.

"Let's go," she hissed, and Jacob could see that she was shaking. Not enough to be in danger of phasing, but enough that he could tell she was pissed. Jacob unlocked the Rabbit and they both slid into their respective seats. Steve and Mark were still yelling, Mark that Leah shouldn't be offended and Steve for wasting his time.

The ride back was dangerously quiet. The same radio station as before was playing in the background, but once it faded into static, Leah shut it off angrily.

"You were right, I guess," Leah said as Jacob passed the halfway mark.

"About?"

"Girls really can't meet random people off the internet."

Jacob let out a hearty laugh and he glanced over at Leah. She had a thin smile on her face, but the anger hadn't fully faded from her eyes. Jacob reached over and turned back on the radio, which was able to pick up the same stations as he could back in La Push now. With the music playing in the background, Leah's mood lightened. Within a few minutes, they were both singing off-key to 80s hits; the time flew by as Jacob drove them back to La Push.

After Jacob dropped Leah back off at the Clearwater's, he headed straight over to Emily's, not bothering to check and see if Paul and Rachel were still at his house. Jacob was happy that Rachel was happy, but it didn't mean he wanted to spend any time with them.

"Jacob!" Emily called cheerily as he entered their house fifteen minutes later. She was sitting on the counter, talking animatedly to Quil, who was sitting at the table. Sure enough, a large plate of muffins was on the table, ready to be devoured. Claire and her sister, Marissa, were nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Emily!" Jacob gave her an awkward side hug as she jumped down from her perch on the counter, "Long time no see."

"You haven't come by in such a long time! You should stop by more often, Jacob," Emily said in her friendly way. She gestured towards the muffins. Lemon poppy seed this time, "It's good to see you."

Jacob grabbed an oversized muffin and immediately began to unwrap it, "Where's Claire and Marissa?" he asked before taking a bite.

"They're both sleeping upstairs," Emily answered, "I know Marissa's sick because now that she's five she normally refuses to take a nap, but today she went down without a problem, Claire with her."

"They're both exhausted," Quil agreed, "It's awful to see."

"They'll be fine," Emily remarked, "Getting sick is just part of growing up. But it was nice of you to come by, Quil. It made the whole day easier."

"Always happy to help out." There was a strange look on Quil's face. Pain? Or maybe guilt? Jacob wasn't sure, but Quil seemed to focus for a second and turned to face Jacob, "Did you get the car?"

"Nah," Jacob shook his head and grabbed another muffin.

"Why?" Quil asked, "Was there something wrong with it?"

"There was nothing wrong with the car… but there was something wrong with the guy selling it. He kept trying to flirt with Leah and we left before I even had a chance to finish my inspection."

Quil chuckled, "I can see where from far away someone might think that Leah is a catch… but man, they couldn't be more mistaken."

"There's nothing wrong with Leah," Emily said with a hint of warning in her voice, "She's had a rough time. She's a perfectly nice person - when she wants to be."

"Yeah, Leah's fine," Quil backtracked quickly, "But she can be scary when she wants to be. I can't imagine flirting with her."

"Can you imagine flirting with _anyone_?" Jacob looked pointedly at Quil.

Quil stared at him, "I guess not."

"Well, _I_ hope that Leah finds someone," Emily said.

"This guy wouldn't have been any good for her," Jacob took another muffin from the table and started unwrapping it, "He was forty at least and a total scumbag."

"I just want her to be happy," Emily fretted, "It'd be nice if she could find someone. I hope she imprints, I think it would make her so happy."

Quil and Jacob exchanged a glance. Jacob liked Emily, he really did, but after spending the last few months stuck inside Leah's head, some of her less than kind thoughts about her cousin had worn off on Jacob. And this was one of the times that he could see why Leah thought Emily could be annoyingly out of touch.

"I don't think that Leah wants to imprint," Jacob said quietly, as he tried to imagine Leah with an imprint. The thought made his gut turn in an unfamiliar way.

"Well, I hope she finds someone that makes her happy, then," Emily said, "Or that she learns to be happy on her own."

"I think that's what we all want," Quil said quietly, "Just to be happy."

"Yeah," Jacob agreed, trying to imagine a cheerful Leah and realizing he'd seen one only earlier that day, "We all just want to be happy."

-&-

New Year's Eve in La Push was always an event. After spending the week of Christmas cooped up with family, everyone was out and about mingling with friends. Kids would come in from Forks to shoot off fireworks on the beach, alcohol would flow freely and there were parties all over the reservation. It had always been one of Jacob's favorite holidays.

The council had decreed that there wasn't any need to have a full patrol on New Year's Eve, but Leah had insisted that she would patrol anyway because "if I was a vampire, I would not be celebrating another year of my ungodly existence and would instead use New Year's Eve to attack a whole bunch of innocent humans." It was obviously an excuse, but everyone knew better than to say anything, and Jacob volunteered to patrol with her, seeing as he didn't have anything better to do.

Sam and Emily were having a party, which would be attended by Rachel and Paul and Jared and Kim and, surprisingly, even Charlie and Sue and Quil's mom. Quil had volunteered to babysit Claire and her sister so that Emily's brother and sister-in-law could have a date night. Seth had accepted invitations to no less than four different new years parties (including the Cullen's and Sam and Emily's) and had plans to make appearances at all four. And Embry was strangely insistent on staying up in Neah Bay with his family. That left Jacob and Leah to patrol.

Rowena Ascarrunz had made it excruciatingly clear that Jacob, Quil, and Embry were more than welcome at her New Year Party (she'd also made it clear that she wouldn't protest if they brought along Jared and Paul, which seemed inappropriate somehow, seeing as the whole reservation knew they were both basically engaged), but Jacob would almost rather hang out with the bloodsuckers than go to that. Almost. Ultimately Rowena's over perfumed self was still better than the leeches, but patrolling with Leah definitely beat attending Rowena's party alone. Or even going to Sam and Emily's party and seeing all the wolves with their imprints all coupled up together.

Last year, Quil's mom had had some boyfriend who invited her to some fancy event in Olympia, and Quil had taken the occasion to throw a party. Jacob had kissed Alyssa Morgan at midnight and then made it all the way to second base with her, but two weeks later she'd told him she'd rather just be friends. After nearly two months of awkward handholding and chaste kisses, it had been his longest relationship, but Jacob found that her request wasn't very upsetting. Four days after that, Bella had appeared with the bikes. And Bella was much more interesting and much prettier than Alyssa Morgan.

And so at nine pm, when all the parties all across the res were just getting started, Jacob went to the woods, stripped naked, and transformed into a giant wolf.

Patrol started without a hitch. Leah's uncharacteristic good mood had lasted all the way through the holiday season; Sue's insistence on a visit to the Cullens with Charlie on Christmas day was the only exception. And Jacob had only heard about that secondhand from Embry after Embry and Leah had ended up in the pack mind together and Embry had had to deal with Leah's sulking. Jacob had spent the holidays with his family, including Paul, who Rachel now insisted that they should consider part of the family, much to Jacob and Billy's displeasure. But tonight, Leah was pleasant (for her, Leah's version of pleasant could still be quite biting when she wanted to be) when Jacob phased. She greeted him with an offer to race before they eventually split up to patrol their own sections of their territory.

The time passed quickly as Jacob and Leah patrolled. Since taking down the leech in November, there had been no unusual activity to speak of during the patrols. Really, since they'd fought the newborns, nothing had happened the entire time they had been patrolling. Being a wolf was honestly rather boring.

Although Leah and Jacob kept mostly to themselves, it was impossible to keep their minds truly apart. While Jacob spent most of his time fuming about Embry forgetting to return his Call of Duty game before leaving for Neah Bay, Leah clearly had a lot more pressing issues on her mind. Mentally, she was busy trying to figure out her new schedule now that she would be returning to classes in just a few weeks, while still working and keeping up with her wolf duties.

Jacob had taken the opposite approach and attempted to block out everything about school, including the book he was supposed to read over break for his English class. But with the pack mind, it was impossible to keep from eavesdropping. And some things, he couldn't help but comment on.

_You're planning on studying accounting?_

_Don't sound so incredulous_. _Yes, I'm going to study accounting._

_Really? Why? It sounds so… boring._ Jacob struggled to think anything more boring than accounting. Math, maybe, but who got degrees in math? Other than his sister, of course.

_That's the whole point. It's boring. My entire life has been so crazy so if my career is boring, then so be it. And accountants make good money and…_ Leah hesitated, trying to avoid thinking too much about it, _I could work anywhere. Atlanta, New York City, even La Push._

_La Push?_ Jacob couldn't think of a single accountant in all of La Push, though he knew that there had to be some.

_Kim's dad,_ Leah answered his unspoken question, _And old Mrs. North does most of the accounting for the tribe, including at the Resort. Mr. Keyo said that he thinks Mrs. North will retire in the next five years and I could probably take her job as the accountant for the Resort._

_That's great, Leah._ Jake hesitated before continuing, trying to decide if his words were worth the risk that Leah might get mad, _I thought you wanted to leave La Push, though._

_Not really. Not like Rachel or Becca did. I wanted to leave and go to college but I think I always knew on some level that I'd come back. And now Seth's going to leave and my mom will be all alone. So I'll stay with her._

_She'll have Billy and Charlie. They're not going anywhere. And Seth's fifteen. He doesn't know what he wants. You really think Seth will leave?_

_I think he'll follow the Cullens. They've already told him they'll pay for his college._ Leah's thoughts were laced with disgust at the idea of taking money from the leeches, _He's thinking about law school, and they'd told him they'd pay for that, too. Anywhere he wants to go. I think my mom's secretly thrilled. Now he'll definitely go to college and maybe he could even go somewhere fancy._

_Well… I guess it's good for him, then._ The thought was sickening to Jacob, as well. But he knew Seth would be happy about it.

_Yeah. And now that my mom has been on the council, maybe I can take her seat. Especially if Seth is off rendezvousing with vampires. There's no real reason that the council seats have to go to the sons._

_I'll vouch for you to take her seat,_ Jacob promised, _You're a wolf, you have the bloodline, you're the Beta, you're loyal to the tribe. There's no reason you can't be on the council if that's what you want._

_Thank you, Jacob._ The gratitude in Leah's thoughts was genuine.

_You know Sam and Jared are gonna be on the council, too, right?_ Leah wasn't an idiot, he was sure she had to know, but he had to double-check.

_Yeah, Jacob, I know. But I can't let that bother me. No matter what I do I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of them. Not unless I leave La Push forever, and really, I don't want to do that. And…_ Leah hesitated for a second, _We're kinda stuck together. We'll always have this stupid wolf thing going on, even if we're not in the same pack. The rest of the world will never understand the wolf thing, but they will. So I might as well be friendly with them._

Jacob took a second to take in what Leah had said. Where had this changed attitude come from? Where was the bitchy girl that would have decked both Sam and Jared any chance she was given?

Leah laughed before responding, _I would still deck Sam if I could, and maybe Jared too. Definitely Paul. But I've thought about it and I've decided to turn over a new leaf. A new Leah for the new year._

Leah really was in a healthier place than Jacob. That was one thing that Jacob didn't doubt, _That's great, Leah._

_I just can't let my anger consume me for the rest of my life, you know? I'll never be best friends with Emily or Sam but I can't let their betrayal rule my entire life._

Silence passed between them for a while, as Jacob considered what all Leah had told him. He tried to remember the happy Leah he'd known as a child, years ago. Or even the one he'd seen laughing with Sam at the Clearwaters house before Sam had grown tall and scary. That Leah was so separate from the one he knew that it felt like a stranger. That wasn't his Leah, the one he'd gotten to know so well over the past several months.

_I know it's not going to be easy,_ she said, having read his thoughts again, _But Jake, I gotta try. And I know I'll never be, like, the nicest person in the world. But I don't have to be so bitter._

_I'm proud of you, Leah._ It was the truth. He was proud of her, slightly in awe of her strength and her ability to grow and change. It was like Emily had said. Leah had been dealt a rough hand.

_Have you thought about it at all, Jake?_ She asked after several moments had passed.

_Have I thought about what?_

_Your future. What you might do after high school. Who you might want to be._

_No._ Jacob knew he hadn't made the progress that Leah had. He wasn't all about turning over a new leaf and becoming a new Jacob. Before Bella, before he turned into a wolf, before everything that had happened last year, Jacob was perfectly happy with who he was.

Bella didn't cross his mind as often as she once had. Mostly, he tried to keep everything about the Cullens and his former best friend far from his mind. Jacob knew that Seth saw Bella nearly every day and that Quil and Embry went with him occasionally, but he never asked for the details, and they never volunteered any. It was a compromise that worked for him. But beyond that compromise, beyond where he was at this moment, he hadn't thought about the future.

_No,_ he admitted finally.

_You should,_ Leah pressed, _It's your junior year. An important one._

_Who are you? My mother?_

_It doesn't have to be college._ Leah ignored him, _But you're smart enough to go college if you wanted to._

Sarah had always talked to Jacob, Rebecca, and Rachel about the importance of college. She was a teacher; she believed strongly in education. It didn't matter to her that Billy didn't go to college; she had always made it clear that she expected all three of her children to go. Rebecca hadn't gone, of course, and Jacob really hadn't made plans either way.

Long ago, Jacob had a dream of opening a garage in Forks with Quil, but they'd hadn't talked about that since before (they always knew that Embry would want to go to college and, of the three, Embry cared the least about cars). But Jacob had no idea if Quil would still want to do that. Quil had his family's store to fall back on, if nothing else, a luxury that Jacob and Embry did not have.

_Have you thought about teaching? You know, since your mom was a teacher. You'd be good at it,_ Leah continued, _Or plumbing? Or air conditioning repair? And I know you love your cars, you could still do the mechanic thing._

_Leave me alone, Leah,_ Jacob begged, the options clouding his brain, taking away from the otherwise cheerful evening, _I'll think about it. I'll figure it out, I promise._

_I'm not trying to nag you, Jacob. But I think that figuring out something beyond just being a wolf in high school might help you. I think it helped me._

_I promise that I'll think about it, okay?_

_I won't bug you any more about it,_ Leah promised, and, true to her word, she didn't speak again. Her thoughts went back to focusing on patrol and the landscape that was passing as she ran around the Quileute's territory, and they passed several hours in the comfortable silence they'd grown so used to.

In the distance, fireworks crackled. It was 2007.

_Happy New Year, Jake._

_Happy New Year, Leah._

_It'll be a good year,_ Leah mused, _I can feel it._

Jacob wasn't so sure. Last year had started off so well, but so much of it had been so bad.

The sound of the firecrackers and distant cheers continued for a while longer; it had always been a tradition to shoot off fireworks on First Beach every midnight. Jacob knew that nearly all the residents of La Push and their guests would have convened on the shore, with sparklers and glasses of champagne in their hands. He wondered if anyone noticed his and Leah's absence.

_Leah?_ Seth's voice pierced into the pack mind after the sound of the firecrackers had died down quite a bit. Booms still pierced the air, but the frequency had slowed down from the steady stream that they had been in the beginning.

_Seth?_ Leah and Jacob asked in unison.

_Seth, what are you doing here? Don't you have a party or two to be at?_ Leah's thoughts had a touch of alarm; she wasn't sure what was causing Seth to give up his night of freedom.

_Leah, I think you need to drive Mom home._ An image of a surprisingly tipsy Sue Clearwater filled the pack mind. She looked like she was having a great time if Seth was to be believed. And most surprising of all, Charlie was right there with her, laughing too loudly and drinking too much. They were both clearly intoxicated, at least in Seth's thoughts.

_Mom's drunk?_ Leah didn't bother to disguise the wonder in her thoughts.

_Just tipsy, I think, but I don't think she should be driving._

_Probably not,_ Leah admitted after Seth showed them a memory of Sue asking for a fifth glass of champagne. Jacob couldn't think of a time he'd seen Charlie or Sue drink any more than a beer or two. He almost regretted skipping the parties; he'd have liked to see them in this state, he thought.

_I also need you to drive me and Nessie back to the Cullen's place. Or at least the treaty line, that's where Bella is supposed to meet us._ Seth's thoughts came tumbling out sheepishly. When Seth had requested permission to let Nessie cross the treaty line, both the Elders and Sam were quick to say yes. It was Jacob and Leah who were more hesitant, but with the Elders and Sam and Seth's happiness on the line, they didn't feel like they could say no (especially since even if Bella and Edward agreed to let their precious little girl out of their sight for a night). So despite her young age, Nessie had crossed the treaty line to shoot off firecrackers at midnight on the beach with everyone else in La Push.

_Seth, I'm on patrol. Who's with Nessie now?_ Leah asked, _They couldn't take her to the treaty line?_

_Emily's watching her. Well, Emily and Sam. And I could ask but I think maybe it's better if you just did it._

Jacob could see that Leah's thoughts were circling everyone in else in the pack who could drive, even imagining Emily in the car with the little half vamp (as if Sam would ever let Emily volunteer to be alone with Nessie. Sam was okay with Seth bringing Nessie across the line, but Jacob had a feeling his generosity and trust of the little demon ended there).

_It's fine, Leah,_ Jacob assured her, _There's nothing that's going to happen anyway._

_You don't know that!_ Leah hissed, her mind full of memories of the blonde bloodsucker she'd taken down only a few months ago.

_I'll howl if I need any help. But really Leah, I think that blonde was a just a fluke. I really doubt anything will happen._

_I can help you patrol if you want, Jake!_ Seth offered.

_And leave me alone with your imprint?!_

_Seth, I'll be fine,_ Jacob promised him, _Nothing's going to happen. Go with Leah and make sure Nessie and Charlie get home._

Leah, who had taken off towards her clothes once she'd seen Seth's memories of Sue, arrived at the edge of the forest.

_I'll meet you at the beach,_ Leah said resignedly.

_Thank you, Leah! Thank you, Jake!_ And then, silence in the bond as Seth phased back to human to join his sister.

Jacob continued to patrol, running through the forest and looking for anything unexpected. But there was nothing. Between the Cullens and the wolf packs, Jacob doubted any unfriendly vampire would ever set foot in their territory again. As Jacob continued his rounds, a sudden burst of wind blew something sickly sweet into his face, disrupting the pleasant smell of fireworks and the bonfire that he knew was currently going on at First Beach.

The smell was indistinct, but it wasn't one that Jacob knew well, but wasn't completely unfamiliar, either. It would be just his luck that there would be an unknown vamp would cross the treaty line on a night when everyone was out partying. At least wolves couldn't get intoxicated, unlike Seth was claiming the humans were. That meant they'd be ready to fight if needed, even if they'd be upset at Jacob for disrupting their celebrations.

Jacob hurried towards the source of the scent, but he quickly realized why it wasn't as familiar to him; the sickly sweet scent was Bella. Sure enough, in the distance, he could just make out the shape of a person standing by a silver car right at the border of the treaty line.

He didn't dare get too close, just close enough to confirm that that was the source of the sickly scent. But as he approached, he could see with his own eyes that it was nothing more than Bella leaning against the Cullens' trusty Volvo. He couldn't smell Edward, and the scent normally permeated through cars. Plus, he was sure that if Edward was there, Edward would read his mind and make his presence known. So it was just Bella, waiting outside of her car in the dark.

A year ago, none of this would have been happening, Jacob couldn't help but think bitterly.

Charlie's squad car pulled up past the treaty line, halting beside the silver Volvo. From where he stood, watching the exchange, Jacob could see that Leah was in the driver's seat, Charlie on the passenger's side, and Seth and Nessie in the backseat.

He hadn't seen Nessie since the day Seth imprinted, except in the thoughts of his pack mates. Seth was over at the Cullen's on almost a daily basis, and Embry and Quil tagged along occasionally, once a week or so. Leah went every so often when Seth requested her for some celebration or another that they had for Nessie (and from what Jacob understood, they were constantly celebrating something that Nessie was doing). Leah had confessed to Jacob that she never really enjoyed going, and instead just went to make sure that Bella didn't snap and kill Sue. But it seemed like Bella had enough control to be around humans regularly and so Leah had stopped her visits, preferring to spend her time doing whatever it was that Leah did. Reflect on her life decisions and decide to become a new person, apparently.

Still, seeing Nessie in person was something of a shock. She had grown quite a bit and looked to be the size of Claire – a three-year-old girl. But it wasn't Nessie that Jacob was studying, it was Bella. Bella, despite her stony face and too-perfect features, was visibly delighted as her daughter ran to her as soon as Seth unstrapped her from her car seat. Leah had gotten out of the car too, slamming the door shut.

"Did you have fun?" Bella's unfamiliar musical voice asked Nessie. Bella sounded happy, thrilled even, but Jacob didn't know her new voice well enough to tell for sure. She seemed so foreign, so unknown, that it was incredible to Jacob that he had once considered her his best friend.

Nessie nodded and placed her hand on Bella's beaming face, no doubt showing her the celebrations in that peculiar way that Jacob had heard so much about. It sounded freaky to him, but Seth thought it was an incredible talent.

"I'm glad you had fun. I always enjoyed visiting La Push, too. Now, let's get you home." Jacob could barely make out Bella's words, "It's way past your bedtime."

"But it's a holiday!" If he didn't know that Nessie could speak such perfect English, Jacob would have assumed that someone else had spoken.

"It's a holiday, but little girls still need their sleep!" The way Bella trilled reminded Jacob of his mother at that moment; despite the differences in their voices, it was the same maternal tone that Sarah had used with him so many times so long ago.

Jacob stayed still as Bella strapped Nessie into the car seat. Why they had a car seat for an immortal child, Jacob didn't know. The Cullens had always been overprotective like that. Leah, who had gotten out of the car to apparently facilitate the handover, stayed standing outside of the patrol car, her arms crossed. She scanned the woods around her, pausing as she looked directly at Jacob. Human vision, especially at night, was nothing compared to wolf vision at night, and Jacob wasn't sure that she could see him, except that her eyes lingered on his hiding spot just a second too long.

"Leah, why do you have Charlie's car?" Bella's voice, while still melodic, had certainly shifted to a harsher tone as she closed the door to the Volvo.

"Charlie had a little too much to drink. I'm just making sure he gets home safely," Jacob heard Leah say in her _don't mess with me_ voice. Apparently, the whole new leaf thing didn't extend to Bella.

"Charlie had too much to drink?"

"I'll take care of it. I'm sure your husband is wondering where you are. I know he doesn't like to let you out of his sight for long," Leah sneered, "Have a good night."

Jacob couldn't make out Bella's response – or if she even had one – but he watched as Leah climbed back into the car, the slam of the door echoing through the forest. Seth was sitting in the backseat, and he waved to Nessie from her car seat in the Cullen's Volvo. Bella followed, her door shutting much more quietly than Leah's.

And Jacob watched as the two cars, one driven by Bella and one driven by Leah, traveled down the road to Forks. The headlights of the two cars faded into the distance, and he took off, ready to continue his patrol.


	10. Chapter Ten

In her heart, Leah knew that it wasn't Kim's fault that her professor always kept her class late and Leah's professor always let her class out early. But every Tuesday and Thursday, when Leah was waiting outside of Kim's psychology class, Leah couldn't help but resent Kim and her rambling professor. Which wasn't fair to Kim, of course, who had been nothing but friendly and polite to Leah and hadn't even accepted gas money for the three weeks that she had been driving them to and from Port Angeles. She just kept saying that once Jake fixed up Leah's new car then Leah could drive some and they'd be even. Kim was really sweet like that.

But still, there were only so many times that Leah could read the fliers on the bulletin boards in the lobby of the social sciences building. Her professor had let their class go a full thirty minutes early compared to the normal ten minutes, and Leah had time to kill. Deciding that she might as well use her time wisely instead of just pacing while waiting for Kim, Leah sat down at one of the couches in the social sciences lounge.

Leah took out her notes and tried to study, but her mind kept wandering. She was three weeks into classes and was somehow managing to balance work, patrol, and school, but she was tired and frankly found introductory microeconomics to be one of the most boring things on the planet. She could only read about supply shifts so many times…

Her eyes scanned the room. In the middle of the social science lounge, there was a table with a smattering of fliers on it. Everything from information about clubs to reminders to meet with your advisor regularly. Leah ignored most of them; she knew she had to meet with her advisor and she was already in a very exclusive club, and she wasn't looking to join any others, thank you very much. But a flier she'd never seen before caught her eye.

_High school juniors and seniors! Start college early and earn college credits with Peninsula Community College's Head Start Dual Enrollment Program!_

Without even thinking about it, Leah stood up and walked across the room. She grabbed the laminated flier and scanned it eagerly. Stereotypical pictures of a group of multi-ethnic students that were taken on a rare sunny day in Port Angeles graced the cover, but on the inside was a list of requirements and details about Peninsula Community College's dual enrollment program. She could think of three high school juniors whose favorite thing to complain about was high school. Leah grabbed three of the fliers and headed back to her seat, reading the requirements rapidly as she walked. They didn't seem that hard, even Quil could probably get in, she thought to herself. Embry would have qualified already, she knew, and Jacob should have no problem as long as he applied himself and actually turned in his homework…

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" She yelped as she walked straight into someone. Leah dropped the fliers in shock, jumping back.

"You're good!" The man she bumped into said with a brilliant smile, "Here, let me help you." Without hesitating, he reached down and grabbed two of her three fliers – Leah snatched the other one out before he could reach it.

"It's Leah, right?" he asked.

"Yes…" Leah eyed him suspiciously. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't immediately place him.

"We have microeconomics together. I'm Danny," he stuck out his hand and handed her the fliers that he had picked up.

"Nice to meet you," she shook his hand and took her fliers back. Now that he mentioned it, she was pretty sure that he was the blond guy who sat in front of her. At least, that's what she imagined the front of his hair to look like.

"Nice to meet you, too," he smiled again. His teeth were slightly crooked, but the smile just seemed so genuine, "Do you hang out with a lot of high schoolers?"

"What?"

He nodded to the fliers, "You grabbed three of those dual enrollment fliers."

"I just…" Leah struggled for the words. It was none of this man's business who she spent her time with, yet she didn't want to say that her friends these days were mostly sixteen- and seventeen-year-old guys. It was pathetic, even if it was the truth, "I work with some," she finished lamely.

"Oh, cool," Danny nodded, "Where do you work?"

"I, um, do security for the reservation I live on. The Quileute reservation. La Push," Leah explained.

"Security? Like, keep people safe? Catch bad guys?"

"Something like that."

"Oh, that's sick!" Danny exclaimed, "That's badass. Is it dangerous? Or maybe not cause it's such a small place?"

"You'd be surprised." An image of Jake's broken body after the newborn battle filled Leah's mind, "We deal a fair amount of danger."

"That's really cool. I just work in the coffee shop on campus. The most dangerous thing there is hot water. And angry customers," he let out a laugh, "Do you live in La Push then?"

"Uh, yeah, I do." Never before had Leah's living situation bothered her, but suddenly she didn't want to admit that she still lived with her mom and her little brother at age twenty.

"Dang, that's a commute. I'm from just outside of Clallam Bay, originally. But I have an apartment here in Port Angeles. I did the commuting thing for one semester and said never again."

"I carpool with a friend. So it's not that bad."

"That's nice. Probably makes the drive go by faster. What do you think about the class?" he asked, gesturing to the microeconomics textbook that Leah had on the table.

"Micro? It's fine. What do you think about it?"

"Pretty hard, if you ask me. Lots more math than I would have thought."

It was just basic algebra, though it felt rude to point that out, "Yeah, I guess so..."

"Leah? Leah?" Kim wandered into the lounge, walking quickly before immediately slowing down when she saw Leah talking to Danny as if Kim thought she interrupted something.

"Hey, Kim." Leah had never been so happy to see Kim before. Leah waved her over, and Kim came apprehensively. Leah quickly shoved the fliers into her backpack and swung her book bag onto her back before turning to Danny, "This is my ride."

"Hi, I'm Kim, nice to meet you," Kim introduced herself.

"I'm Danny," he said smoothly.

"We better get going," Leah said, "Long ride back and all."

"Let me know if you ever want to study together, Leah. Or even just get a drink," Danny offered before she could leave, "Or if you ever stop by the coffee shop, I can hook you up with a free mocha… or whatever you like to drink. Here, let me give you my number."

Leah stared at him as he jotted down his number on the back of a scrap piece of paper, "Uh, thanks. I'll let you know, I guess."

"I'll be waiting for your call." She could have sworn he winked as he said it, "Nice to meet you, Kim."

Leah shoved the scrap of paper in her backpack, not even bothering to pretend to treat it with care. She barely muttered goodbye before she started walking briskly, leaving Kim to hurry to catch up with her, "Leah! I would have waited for you!"

"Why?" Leah demanded, "It's like an hour back to La Push. The sooner we get going, the sooner we'll be home."

"Leah, he was trying to flirt with you! He's cute! He offered you free coffee!" Kim protested. They were halfway to the parking lot now, the cold January air encompassing them. Kim was fumbling with her jacket zipper, trying to get it zipped up.

"So?"

"He's cute! Free coffee!"

Leah narrowed her eyes at Kim as Kim gave up on her zipper and instead fumbled with the keys, "I thought the imprint made you blind to all men but Jared."

"It doesn't make us blind, Leah. I can still tell when a guy is objectively good looking. And Danny is! I mean, not as cute as Jared but no one is as cute as Jared." Kim finally managed to unlock the car door. She threw her backpack into the back seat as Leah opened the passenger seat and put hers at her feet, "Jesus, it's cold. I'm so jealous that you never get cold anymore. Shit. That came out wrong."

Deep breath, Leah thought to herself, "It's fine, Kim," she mumbled. But Kim seemed to tell she had hit a nerve.

Five minutes into the silent drive, Kim spoke again for the first time. She still hadn't given up her hopes that Leah would call Danny, "I just really think you should call him."

"I don't know anything about him. Other than he makes coffee for a living and is from Clallam Bay."

"But that's why you should call him!" Kim protested, "To find out more about him! What if he's perfect for you?"

Leah didn't know what perfect for her was, but she knew that Danny was not it. He was so friendly, so outgoing. And blond. And he didn't exactly scream intelligent. In other words, he was the polar opposite of Sam. But maybe that's what Leah needed. She'd never gone for a blond guy before. Even her middle school boyfriend – if you could even call him that – had been just as Quileute as Leah was.

"I don't think he's perfect for me. But if I promise to think about calling him, will you stop bugging me about it?"

"Okay, fine, I'll stop!" Kim sighed dramatically, "So what were those fliers you had? Are you thinking about joining a club?"

Leah let out a laugh, "No. They're about the dual enrollment program. I picked them up for the boys. Though they might enjoy getting out of their senior year of high school."

"Wow, Leah, if I didn't know better, I'd say you cared about them," Kim teased, "Picking them up fliers for programs that would improve their life. That's big for you."

"I still haven't decided whether or not I'm going to give them to them." That was a lie. Leah was definitely going to give all three of the boys a flier.

"Sure, sure," Kim was smirking now.

"Whatever," Leah rolled her eyes, determined to change the subject and get the focus off of her, "How was your class? Was that annoying woman still talking too much?"

"Ugh, yes! She just interrupts the professor every chance she gets – don't ask me why she thinks she knows more than someone with a Ph.D., but she does!" The two questions were like magic, and the rest of the ride was filled with Kim's complaints about her psych partner, followed by the pleasant silence and a conversation about Grey's Anatomy. That much was routine for the two of them.

Forty-five minutes later, Kim had dropped Leah off at her empty house. Leah had known that it would be deserted, or at least she'd guessed that much. Sue was working that evening and Seth had never spent more than thirty minutes alone in the house before he'd go off and find some friends. Today, Leah had no doubt that he was either with Jake and his minions or at the Cullens.

As Leah unpacked her backpack and lunch bag (she always had to bring snacks to class, lest her stomach rumble and interrupt the entire lecture), the scrap of paper with Danny's number fell out. She shoved it back into her backpack without a second thought. Even though she'd promised Kim she'd think about calling him, Leah was doubtful. But maybe someone so different from Sam, so different from every other guy she had in her life would be good. Or maybe it would be a good way to make microeconomics extremely awkward for the rest of the semester when Leah refused to sleep with him on the first date. It was impossible to know.

She sat down at the kitchen table, determined to study for the microeconomics exam next week. But as soon as she did, she opened her notebook only to see the dual enrollment fliers she'd picked up for her idiot pack mates. They'd be so happy when she presented them a way to end their high school career early; she just knew it. She could almost see the grin on Jacob's face. Maybe she should just tell them now. It would give them more time to study for the tests they had to take. Besides, she'd already sat through an hour and a half lecture on microeconomics. That was all her brain could take for one day. She wasn't Rachel.

Ten minutes later, she was approaching the Black's house. Rachel's car was outside, and with her wolf hearing, Leah could hear Rachel and Billy deep in a discussion about their upcoming trip to Hawaii. But further away, she could hear three familiar laughs. Leah opted to skip the pleasantries with Billy and Rachel and go straight to the garage.

She didn't bother knocking or otherwise alerting the three boys to her presence. She just opened the door and strolled right in. There were a pair of long legs sticking out from under Leah's Explorer that Jacob had convinced her to buy. It was a steal, but it needed a lot of work, and Jacob had promised to do it all free of charge. And so Leah, against her better judgment, gave into Jake's pressure and bought the car from an older woman and her son who did not try to hit on her in any way, shape, or form.

"Hey, morons, I have something you might be interested in."

_Clang!_ Jacob hit his head as he rolled out from under the car.

"Hey, Leah!" he greeted her cheerfully. His coveralls were stained with grease, and not fully zipped up. His bare chest was greasy, too. Disgusting, Leah thought to herself, even as she took a second look.

"You brought us something? Is it poisoned?" Quil asked, appearing from the other side of the car. He was also wearing coveralls, although Leah could see a white wife-beater under his.

"It's not food."

"What is it then?" She'd almost missed Embry, who, unlike his friends, was sitting on the couch that had somehow appeared in Jake's garage, wearing civilian clothes with a chemistry textbook in his lap.

"Peninsula Community College has a dual enrollment program. You guys could go there and get high school and college credit next year, instead of returning to QTS." She held up the fliers and watched as they eyed them.

"Are you serious?" Embry jumped up and grabbed one out of her hands, "You mean we've been wasting away at QTS when we could of have been at college with you this whole year?"

Jacob and Quil wiped their hands on their coveralls, being the gross boys they were, before taking the two remaining fliers from Leah's hands.

"Now I see why you made her Beta, Jake!" Quil crowed after he scanned the paper, "This is the best thing you've ever done for us, Leah! Rescuing us from high school. Jared would never."

"Yeah, this is great, Leah," Jacob agreed, "Thanks for bringing us these."

"You gotta take these tests, though," Embry pointed out, "Look."

"Fuck, dude, there's one for every subject! Or the ACT," Quil groaned, "You'll get in just fine Embry, but what about me and Jake?"

"Well maybe if you two spent some time studying you'd be able to do it!" Embry said, "And we're gonna have to take the ACT anyway, might as well do it now so we can do this dual enrollment thing."

"We weren't going to have to take it for a couple of more months! I might get smart between now and then!"

"Are you really okay with us going to the same school as you?" Jacob asked quietly. He hadn't moved from her side after he'd grabbed the flier from her and he was standing so close that Leah could almost feel the heat of his body radiating from him. Quil and Embry continued to argue about the testing and the feasibility of getting into the program. Jacob spoke so quietly that he seemed to only want Leah to hear.

Leah shrugged, "I know how much you guys hate QTS. Hell, if I'd known this was a thing I'd have begged my parents to let me do it."

"It's really great of you to bring this to us. You really saved us. You should stay while we work on your car," Jake nodded at the couch that Embry had been sitting on, "We have warm sodas and snacks and great company."

"You aren't worried about the tests or anything?" Leah ignored his question and looked directly at Embry and Quil. Embry was now assuring Quil that Quil would be able to make it into the program, he'd just actually have to try in school for the first time.

"Leah, I've fought vampires and lived in the Canadian woods as a wolf before. I think I'll be fine."

"Those are very different skill sets."

Jacob shrugged again, "I'll study for them and if I don't get in and these two do, then I'll just drop out."

"Okay, Jacob." She glared up at him, noticing his teasing smile for the first time.

"You worry too much, Leah. So do you, Quil!" He called at his friends, "Let's get back to work!"

Jacob's words shook Quil and Embry out of their heated discussion and snapped them back to reality. Jacob and Quil both shoved their fliers at Embry, who took them without complaint before they headed back to the Explorer.

"You staying, Leah?" Jacob looked straight at Leah as he asked.

All three of their eyes were on her. Before she could even think about it, she found herself saying yes.

-&-

"Here are your keys, please feel free to call the front desk if you have any questions or need anything. Enjoy your stay!" Amy's voice sounded so much more sincere than Leah's did, but then again, Amy was undoubtedly kinder than Leah was.

The older couple took the keys from Amy and hollered their thanks before going to their room. The Resort did a steady business throughout the year, but January was undoubtedly a slower time, and Amy and Leah were rarely scheduled at the together. Today, however, their shifts overlapped by a full thirty minutes, and so they had time to chat, something that they rarely did.

Amy filled Leah in on the details of her holidays and her life; Leah had heard bits and pieces of it from Kim, but it was different hearing it from Amy herself. She was only a year older than Leah, but she seemed wiser somehow. And the diverging sides to Amy and Kim's stories could be quite funny (Amy stressed that while she was happy that Kim was happy, Amy personally thought that her younger sister could do better than Jared and hoped it was just a first love situation and Kim would dump him soon – Leah had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing).

The front desk phone rang with a piercing ring, interrupting Amy's story about a New Year's Eve party in Forks that had gotten out of hand. Using reactions slightly better than a human's, Leah grabbed it before Amy could, "Front desk."

"Hi, yes. We're in room 203. We were wondering if it would be possible to extend our stay for another night?"

"I'd be happy to looking into that for you."

As Leah pulled up the reservation computer program, something caught her eye. On the computer screen was an internet page for advice on how to return to college after taking a break.

"You're going back to college?" Leah couldn't help but ask as soon as she finished helping the guests.

"Not to Oregon State," Amy responded, "To Montana State this time. We have some family in Bozeman, so I'm planning on staying with them. I just found out that I got in a few days ago. But I'm not starting till the summer semester, so I'll still be here for another few months. And then it'll be you running this place."

"Me?" Leah balked. As if she needed more responsibility in her life.

"Well, you're the only other member of the front desk staff." That was true. Although Mr. Keyo and his assistant manager filled in when needed, Amy and Leah did the bulk of the front desk work, and they were the only two assigned solely to desk duty. Amy seemed to notice the panic in Leah's face, though, as she quickly added, "Only if you want it, of course. They normally hire some more people for the summer season.

"I'll have to think about it," Leah mumbled as she processed the surprising news, "See what happens…"

"You can make a decision about it later," Amy assured her, "Are you heading out?"

Leah glanced at the clock; it was now 1pm. Her shift was over, having passed quickly this time, despite the few guests. Leah had managed to work her way through her to-do list, save for two items that she couldn't exactly do at work.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Leah reached awkwardly for her bag under the desk, "Have a good one, Amy."

"You too, Leah!" Amy said cheerfully.

As Leah left the resort, her stomach dropped. Today was the day. She'd promised herself that she would do two things today, and both were nerve-wracking. The first thing was that she would go talk to Emily. She had triple-checked the patrol schedule; Sam was on duty today, and so would not be home. As Leah crossed the reservation, she saw Jared's truck parked in front of the small restaurant that his family owned, and she knew that he, too, was working today. With the younger boys all in school, that left only Paul who could possibly be at Emily's, but from the way Jacob spoke, he was more likely to be at the Blacks.

So she hurried on, determined to make it to Emily's before she lost her nerve. Emily and Sam lived on the far edge of the reservation, in a house that had once belonged to Emily and Leah's great-grandmother.

Sure enough, there was only one car parked outside of the little house as Leah approached on foot. She didn't hesitate or try to figure outside who was inside, Leah walked straight to the door and rapped on it three times. The sound of little footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Claire!" She heard Emily cry. Claire's infectious laughter filled the air as the footsteps grew closer.

Leah didn't think to consider whether or not Claire would be there; she'd heard from Sue that Emily was watching her niece when Claire's parents, who had recently moved to La Push, traveled for work.

But still, the door cracked opened and Emily appeared with a shocked expression on her face, "Leah?"

"Hi, Emily. Can we talk?"

Emily studied Leah for a second before answering, "Of course. Come on in."

Emily swung the door open more widely and stepped back to let Leah in. Claire grabbed on to Emily's legs and gave Leah a shy grin and a small wave. Leah waved back. She hadn't spent much time with Claire since phasing, or even before that. Although Emily's brother and sister-in-law came by semi-frequently to see Sue, Leah had mostly taken to avoiding them ever since Emily had run off with Sam.

"Can you say hi to your Aunt Leah, Claire?" Emily asked.

"Hi," Claire said quietly in her sweet little voice.

Leah smiled at her, "Hi, Claire. How are you doing?"

"She's tired," Emily answered for her after Claire spent several seconds just staring up at Leah without responding, "It's her nap time."

"Am not tired!" Claire pouted before yawning.

"Remember what we talked about? How you're just going to lay down quietly upstairs? And it's okay if you don't sleep, but why don't you lay down quietly?" Emily spoke in a child-friendly voice, before bending down and picking up Claire, "I'll be right down, Leah. There are some scones in the kitchen. Help yourself to whatever."

"Bye, Aunt Leah," Claire called as Emily began to ascend the stairs.

"Bye, Claire," Leah called back softly. She waited until Claire and Emily had made it all the way up the stairs and Leah heard the soft close of the door of the second bedroom. Leah could hear Emily selecting a book and reading to Claire.

Leah made her way into the kitchen. As promised, there was a plate of scones on the counter. She debated taking one, before deciding not to. For once in her life, she wasn't hungry.

Emily and Sam's kitchen was brightly lit and pleasant. Before Leah had phased, all the pack meetings were held here, and it was easy to see why. Their table had been expanded to sit up to ten, although the chairs didn't all match and part of it was nothing more than a bench. On a set of hooks by the door were several ties that the wolves used to keep their clothes when they transformed. This wasn't the only house on the reservation where everyone knew the secrets of the wolves, but it was the only one where it felt like nearly everything catered to the wolves.

Leah heard the upstairs door close again, even more quietly this time, and then the footsteps of Emily descending the stairs. Leah took a deep breath.

"Should we sit down? Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Leah knew Emily well enough to recognize the nervousness in her voice.

"No, I'm good," Leah declined. She pulled out one of the mismatched chairs and sat down. Emily moved so she was directly across from Leah and did the same.

"How are you?" Emily asked awkwardly.

"I've been fine." It wasn't even a lie, not really, "How about you?"

"Good. I've been really good. We went up to see my parents at Neah Bay last weekend – they're doing well, too. But man, this weather always gets me down. The rain in January always seems so much harsher than the rest of the year," Emily babbled.

"We don't need to do the small talk thing." The words came out more harshly than Leah was intending.

"Right." The thin smile on Emily's face disappeared, "What did you want to talk about?"

Leah took a deep breath, "I've been thinking a lot about what everything that happened."

Emily just stared at her, "The imprinting? Or your phasing? Or what?"

"All of it."

"And?"

Another deep breath, "I've come to the conclusion that Sam and I would probably have broken up anyway. The wolf thing was too big of a secret to keep, it would have torn us apart one way or another. And I've seen the thoughts of wolves who have imprinted for long enough now to know that he would never have been able to stay away from you."

Emily's face was unreadable.

"So I don't blame you for stealing him anymore," Leah continued. She looked down at her hands, "It was just never meant to be for us. So I forgive you, I guess."

"Leah - "

"Wait, I'm not done. I forgive you but I can't just forget everything that happened. I understand now and I don't blame you for it but that doesn't mean it's all rosy. And to be quite honest Emily, I don't know that we'll ever be able to be friends again – at least not like we were before. But... I don't want to tiptoe around each other anymore."

"I… I think that's fair, Leah. I'd like that, too. And I really do feel horrible about everything that happened, and if I could change any of it, I would. I know you've had such a hard year and I really do miss you and I just wish I could have explained everything to you and I wish it wasn't like this. But I love Sam, Leah, I really do. And I really hope that one day you find someone who makes you just as happy as I am. And I know you will, there's someone out there for you."

"I know." Leah wasn't a hundred percent sure that she really believed it, but it was better than Emily's awkward reassurances.

"Of course," Emily flushed again. They let the words that both had spoken settle in between them, but after a while, Emily broke the silence, "Do you still want to be a bridesmaid?"

Leah should have known that Emily would ask this. Leah hadn't thought about it, but she still knew her answer. "If you'll have me."

"Of course I will, Leah," Emily beamed, before hurriedly saying, "But please don't feel pressured to do any of it that you don't want to!"

"It's okay, Emily. I can handle it. I promise."

"I just don't want you to do anything that will make you miserable."

Leah forced her face into a smile, "Thank you, Emily. But I'll be there to support you on your wedding day, just like we always said we would."

"Thanks, Leah. It's not quite what I always wanted, though. I never wanted to fall in love with someone you loved. I never wanted to hurt you. And I really am sorry about that."

The words made Leah clench her jaw, before she took another deep breath, "Well, hopefully, it'll be your dream day in every other way."

"Thank you, Leah, I hope it will be, too. I really am so excited about it."

"How's the planning going?" Leah asked. She would find about it all eventually anyway, might as well ask about it now. Better than being surprised on the day of.

Emily chattered on about the various plans she'd made for her wedding, from the catering (Jared's family's restaurant) to the venue (the Resort) and the photographer (their cousin who lived up in Neah Bay). The plan was to do it on the cheap, Emily explained, as they didn't have much money, something that Leah knew well. One of the downsides of getting married at 21, Leah thought to herself.

From there, the conversation flowed to Leah's classes and her new plans to become an accountant. Everything was still surface level, nothing deep. There were no secrets exchanged between the two; nothing Leah told Emily was anything that Sue or Jacob or even Kim didn't know. But it felt good. Not quite like friendship, but like friendly cousins. It was something they hadn't had in so long.

Eventually, the slamming of a door interrupted their conversation. They both looked up at the staircase, and little Claire pattered down. Her hair was messed up and her clothes were disheveled; clearly, she had slept, despite her insistence that she wasn't tired.

"Hi, Miss Sleepyhead," Leah greeted the girl, "Did you have a good nap?"

Ignoring the two adults, Claire headed straight to the little dollhouse in the corner of the room, "I play now."

"You can play for a few minutes," Emily warned, "But then we have to go pick your sister from school."

"Rissa?" Claire asked excitedly.

"Yes, we need to go pick up Marissa," Emily stood up from her chair, before turning to face Leah, "I'm going pack a snack for the girls."

"Play wif me, Aunt Leah!" Claire called.

Leah glanced at the clock. It was nearly 2:30; the kindergarten at QTS let out at 3. The high school let out at 2:15. Seth normally made his way to the Cullens or wherever he was spending his afternoon by 2:45, and Sue worked the early shift today and would be home by 5:30 if she didn't stop anywhere. There was one remaining item on Leah's to-do list; one thing that she promised herself she'd do. And she wanted to have the house to herself to do it.

"I'll play with you until it's time to go pick up Marissa." Leah sank down on the ground beside Claire and picked up one of the little dolls.

Enthralled to have a playmate, Claire happily barked instructions about how she should play the mommy, and what exactly the mommy should do (she should _not_ make the kids nap and she should _not_ make people clean up, but she _should_ let everyone have candy for dinner). Leah laughed and followed Claire's lead. Fifteen minutes passed quickly.

Leah accepted a ride with Emily and Claire to QTS but bid her family members farewell as they waited for Marissa. Emily had invited her to stay for dinner, but Leah had hastily declined that particular invitation. No need to see Sam anymore than necessary, even if Leah wanted to repair her relationship with Emily. Plus, Leah was in a hurry to get home. The walk to the Clearwaters from QTS was nothing, and she wanted to get this over with.

The house was deserted when Leah arrived home. Seth's book bag was strewn on the floor by the door, a sure sign that he'd left for the Cullens. Sue was still on the clock. Leah grabbed her backpack from its hook and emptied its contents; she had to dig to find what she was looking for. But at the very bottom, she found a scrunched up piece of scrap paper.

Leah grabbed the phone from its cradle and dialed the numbers quickly before she could lose her nerve.

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

If no one picked up, then it wasn't meant to be, she decided. But after the fifth ring, a gruff male voice came through the line.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Danny? It's Leah, from microeconomics."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know don’t hate me! Blackwater is absolutely end game but this is a slow burn so we’re still on this journey and this is part of the journey! 
> 
> I’d like to thank everyone has given me feedback so far. I’d love to hear your thoughts about this chapter! I know the Leah and Emily scenes have had some very mixed reviews thus far so please let me know your thoughts on them. 
> 
> Also, I know that so far I’ve kept this with alternating POVs every chapter, do people like that? I don’t think I’ll ever change POVs midchapter (just too difficult for me and I don’t like the flow), but what would your thoughts be on a two chapters in a row in either Jacob or Leah’s POV? I’m not entirely sure it’ll happen but it is something I’m considering for future chapters. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading and please let me know your thoughts!


	11. Chapter Eleven

"If you don't know it, then you don't know it, Quil. There's nothing wrong with that." Embry sounded a lot more confident than Jacob felt.

For the first time in the history of their friendship, Embry, Quil and Jacob were spending their free time studying. Currently, they were huddled over a math book in Embry's kitchen. The Call's house was tiny, even for a res house, and the three of them took up almost all of the room in the kitchen. It was more than slightly uncomfortable, but they made it work.

They had tried a variety of spots for their study group. First was Jacob's garage, their go-to hang out spot. But the lack of tables or desks made it hard, and it felt wrong to do too much homework in there. Then, they'd spent exactly two hours and seventeen minutes being called nerds by Paul and dealing with Billy muttering about not being able to relax in his own house at the Black's kitchen table before they'd decided not to study at the Black's again. The next day Embry offered up his house, and it worked surprisingly well.

"I do know it though!" Quil protested, "Or at least I did yesterday."

"Dude, this isn't fair. Why do we need to know all these equations to take community college classes?" Jacob whined, trying to take the heat off of Quil.

Embry shrugged, "I guess they want you to make sure you can handle it before they let you start taking classes? Fuck if I know. Here, Jake, check your answers with mine."

Embry's math ability far eclipsed either Quil or Jacob's, and Embry had flown through the set of practice problems that they had printed off at the library. Confident that his answers were correct, Embry was attempting to teach his two best friends some of the basics so that they might have a chance to pass the test. Quil was still struggling through his sheet, but Jacob had managed to come up with answers to all of the questions.

Jacob took the sheet from Embry and began to compare their answers. 2X for number one, check, -5 or 5 for number two, wrong…

The sound of keys banging against the front door interrupted Jacob's comparisons. He could hear Tiffany Call cursing at herself under her breath as she realized that the door was unlocked; Embry was so rarely home after school that she wasn't expecting him.

"Fuck, it's my mom," Embry swore.

"Should we get out of here?" Jacob eyed a large window, their best chance at escape.

"Nah, she'll know something's up," Embry took a deep breath. The Call's house was small enough that that as soon as Ms. Call made her way through the door, she'd see the three of them anyway. And the sight of Quil and Jacob making their way through the window was sure to only infuriate her more.

"Embry?" Ms. Call asked as soon as she got the door open. She had a large bag of groceries in her arms. Her face narrowed as soon as she saw Quil and Jacob, "Embry, you're grounded. You can't have your friends over."

"I know, Ma, but look, we're studying," Embry gestured at the pile of paper and books.

"Hello, Jacob and Quil," Ms. Call took a labored breath and put her groceries on the counter. Embry immediately jumped up and started putting them away, while Jacob sunk further into his chair.

"Hi, Ms. Call," Quil squeaked out. Jacob kicked him under the table. Jacob knew better than to say a single word.

"Jacob, Quil, while I'm happy that you're studying, Embry is grounded and will be for the foreseeable future. So he really can't have guests." Ms. Call had a stern but exasperated look on her face. She glared at her son's back as he continued putting away the groceries.

"We were just leaving," Jacob said as he closed the textbook dramatically. He grabbed his book bag from the floor and slung it over his shoulder, "Come on, Quil."

Quil got up from his seat, as well, and quickly stuffed his papers into his bookbag, "Sorry, Ms. Call."

"We'll see you tomorrow at school, Embry," Jacob said as he and Quil made their way out the door.

"See you," Embry echoed dejectedly.

Quil and Jacob barely closed the door before the yelling started.

"How can you have people over, Embry? You know you're grounded! That means you can't go out and you can't have people over! You know that!" Ms. Call started, "You snuck out just last night! And don't try to deny it – I checked your room when I got up to use the bathroom at two am and you weren't there! For the past year, it's been nothing but you sneaking out and breaking the rules! I don't get it!"

With werewolf hearing, Quil and Jacob could hear Ms. Call's rant as they walked slowly away from Embry's house. Not that it took werewolf hearing. Jacob was pretty sure that half of the street could hear Tiffany Call's exasperated yells.

"Do your friends do this? Do Jacob and Quil sneak out too? I haven't heard Joy complain about Quil sneaking out into all hours of the night! I don't get it, Embry – you used to be such a good kid! But this past year… you've been damn near impossible. I don't understand what happened to you!" If Jacob wasn't mistaken, there was a sob at the end of Ms. Call's rant.

"Damn," Quil muttered as they reached the end of the street. Embry hadn't said a word, at least not that they could hear, but by now they were far enough away that they might not hear something if he spoke in a calm tone.

"I know," Jacob agreed. They trudged along in silence.

Guilt seeped into Jacob's mind. It was hardly fair that Embry had to suffer through his mother's anger like that, not when Billy had reacted with happy pride and Joy Ateara, while not exactly delighted at Quil's transformation, was still proud of her son for joining the ranks of La Push's most secret society. But Ms. Call was stubbornly convinced that her son had run away for a few days on some drug binge and, even when he came back, had been transformed into some horrible shell of his former self. The worst part was that she wasn't entirely wrong. The transformation had changed all of them in some ways that would be unrecognizable to their past selves.

But Jacob couldn't help but feel that he was partially at fault for Embry's disappearances. Sure, in the beginning, it was Sam who ordered Embry around and kept him up late, but now, it was Jacob. It was Jacob who had told Embry to take the night shift last night with Seth. It was even Jacob who talked them into studying together after school when Embry could easily be home studying alone and not breaking his mom's rules. There was no reason that Jacob himself couldn't have patrolled for him or suggested that they study alone. Sam always took more shifts than anyone else so that Brady and Colin didn't have to spend as many nights patrolling since they were so young. Maybe Jacob should be doing that. Shielding his pack from the wrath of their parents.

"Where are we going?" Quil asked, interrupting Jacob's thoughts. They had reached the end of Embry's little neighborhood (it was nothing more than a single street that had a handful of houses on it, but in La Push that was as close as it got to a neighborhood) and were now standing at a dead end, with the option to go left towards town and Quil's house or right towards Jacob's house.

"We can go to mine but Paul's definitely there," Jacob offered.

"What day is it?"

Jacob stared at Quil, "Wednesday. Why?"

"My mom isn't working. So she'll be there. And Jeff will probably be there, too," Quil made a face.

"Who's Jeff? Her new boyfriend?"

Quil nodded, "He's lasted a long time. Four months."

"And you don't like him?" Jacob asked. He felt bad that Quil's mom had apparently been dating this guy for four months and Jacob had never bothered to ask Quil how he felt about it. He felt even worse that he had barely realized that Quil's mom had a new boyfriend.

"He's alright. But he thinks he's my dad. Treats me like a kid. Tells me what to do. He tried to tell me I shouldn't stay out so late the other night."

"Oh. That sucks." Once again, Jacob was glad that Billy had never once dated anyone since his mom had died. It all seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

"Yeah."

"So where should we go?" They had been standing in the road the entire time they had this conversation. Not a car had gone by, but it still felt silly.

"I guess we could try your garage again. Or Emily's!" Quil suggested brightly.

Jacob didn't feel like dealing with Sam, not today. Or ever, really, but something about studying for exams in Sam's house felt especially wrong. And Quil must have guessed that, because the next thing he said was, "Or not."

"What about the Clearwaters?" Jacob couldn't believe he didn't think of it earlier, "We can go to the Clearwaters. Sue might grumble some but she never minds too much when we stop by. And Leah can help us if we have questions."

"You think Leah would help us?" Quil asked doubtfully.

The old Leah wouldn't. But the new Leah, the one who was so determined to turn over a new leaf and had been the one to tell them about the whole dual enrollment program might, "Maybe. Wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Well, it beats dealing with Paul or Jeff. Let's do it." And so the two friends turned right towards the Clearwater's.

Leah was surprised when they knocked on the door and asked for a place to study, but she didn't deny them entry. Instead, she simply said that she had to study for an upcoming exam and they could all study together.

"Where's the third moron?" Leah asked as she let Quil and Jacob inside.

"Funny story. Actually, not funny at all," Quil began, continuing after Leah raised her eyebrow in question at him, "We were studying at his house. But his mom came home and apparently he's still eternally grounded for sneaking out all the time and so Jake and I had to leave and then Embry got yelled at."

"His mom still doesn't know?" Leah asked.

"No," Jacob said, "And she's really pissed. Apparently, she caught him 'sneaking out' again last night."

"Jesus. Poor guy," Leah said. Quil and Jacob followed her into the kitchen, where her stuff was already sitting on the kitchen table. She gestured for them to sit down and they did.

For several minutes, they studied in relative silence. By the way that Quil was tapping his pencil, Jacob knew that Quil didn't know how to do any of the math problems that they were supposed to be attempting. They had stolen the sheet with Embry's answers on it and Jacob found that he had only gotten half the problems right. The test was in just a few days, and it wasn't going well. The only thing worse than using their free time to study would be using their free time to study and then getting rejected from the program and having to go back to QTS next year anyway.

After they had studied for a good twenty minutes, the Clearwater's front door jingled, and in came Seth. He was carrying his book bag, but based on his lack of shirt and athletic shorts, Jacob could guess where he came from.

"Hi, everyone!" he greeted them excitedly, "What are you guys doing here?"

"I live here, moron," Leah retorted.

"Studying," Jacob answered dully, ignoring Leah and motioning to the pile of papers and textbooks.

"Why are you studying here?" Seth asked, "Embry's looking for you, you know."

"Embry's looking for us?" Quil asked.

Seth nodded. He grabbed a Poptart from the pantry and ripped the bag open, "I saw him on my way here. He said he was looking for you guys," he said before stuffing the Poptart into his mouth.

"What an idiot," Leah muttered under her breath.

At the same time, Quil let out a laugh, "Embry's a legend."

"He's supposed to be grounded," Jacob explained to a perplexed looking Seth.

"He was definitely out in the middle of the street looking for you guys. He wasn't far. You could probably go find him."

Jacob shook his head, "He'll figure it out eventually." There were only a limited number of places on the reservation that they could possibly be and Embry was bound to check at the Clearwaters at some point. And besides, he didn't want to risk getting Embry into even more trouble than he already was.

"Look at what Bella got me!" Seth changed the subject, reaching into his book bag and pulling out a hoodie that read Rome in big font.

"What the fuck is that?" Leah blurted out.

"It's a hoodie! From Rome!"

"Aren't you supposed to get something, like, high fashion in Rome?" Quil questioned as he stared at the hunter green hoodie doubtfully. It looked comfy, but it was hardly the epitome of fashion.

Seth shrugged, "That's what Alice said. But only Bella went to Rome and she got me this. And some chocolates, but I already ate them."

"What was Bella doing in Italy?" Quil asked.

"She had to go prove to those scary Italian vampires that she was a vampire. I don't know the whole story. It was all very complicated. Carlisle went to London, though, and look at what he got me!" This time, Seth pulled out a large book on the history of London from his book bag. He started thumbing through it, "This is the London that Carlisle was born in, look!"

He flipped to a page and showed them a picture of London in the 1640s. Seth seemed quite pleased with his gifts.

Leah and Jacob made eye contact and shared a disgusted look.

"So fucked up," Leah mouthed. At least that's what Jacob thought she mouthed. It could have been something else, but Jacob just nodded in agreement.

A knock on the door interrupted Seth's lecture on the history of Carlisle and his disgustingly long life.

"Must be Embry," Jacob said. He stood up quickly, "I'll get it."

Sure enough, Embry was standing at the Clearwaters door.

"Dude, what are you doing here?" Jacob asked as soon as he opened the door.

"I could ask you the same thing!"

Jacob ignored him, "We heard your mom yelling at you. You're grounded, dude. Maybe you should stay home."

Embry shook his head, "She got called in to waitress at the diner. She'll never know I'm gone. Don't worry about it, man."

"I just don't want you to get into even more trouble."

"She'll never know. How do you think I've been hanging out with you nearly every day after school? I do this all the time," Embry assured him, "Now are you going to let me in? Why are you here anyway?"

Jacob stepped aside to let Embry in, "We're just studying. Paul was at my place and Quil's mom's boyfriend was at his so we came here."

Embry gave Jacob a strange look but didn't say anything.

"What?" Jacob asked him.

Embry shook his head, "Nothing, man."

Jacob followed Embry into the kitchen, still confused by the unfamiliar look on Embry's face. But he sensed that he wouldn't get an answer anytime soon.

Everyone greeted Embry and he took a seat at the table, as well. Leah managed to convince Seth to put away his history of London book that Carlisle had gotten him and take out his history homework, but only after he showed Embry everything that had been given to him. And so the pack studied together, mostly peacefully (there was always some squabbles and back and forth – Jacob had accepted it as just part of pack life) and, really, other than the fact that there was math involved, it wasn't a bad way to pass an evening.

It was a pleasant coincidence that Embry and Seth were born only two years and four days apart. Their birthdays, on the 10th and the 14th of February, respectively, as well as their friendship, meant that there could be one bonfire for the two of them and only one all-wolf get together, taking up only weekend night instead of two.

-&-

So on the Friday before their birthdays, everyone gathered at the cliffs, just like always. There'd been several of these little get-togethers in the months between Jacob's birthday and now: one for the holidays and one for Sam's twenty-second birthday in January. Where Jacob had once dreaded them, he'd grown to enjoy them, as it was a rare chance to let down his guard in public without worrying about anyone seeing his superhuman abilities.

"Jacob, think fast!" Colin yelled before tossing a Frisbee from way too far away. But with wolf reflexes, Jacob caught it with ease.

"Nice one, Colin!" Jacob yelled back. He waited only half a second before tossing it back with much more power than Colin had used, sending the younger boy running into the forest to try to catch it.

All around him, the two packs were enjoying the evening. Sam was sitting around the fire with his arm around Emily, both laughing with Jared and Kim. Embry, Brady, and Colin were all involved in the intricate Frisbee game that Jacob occasionally joined in when they tossed the Frisbee to him. Quil and Seth had brought Claire and Nessie, and the two girls were just the right age to play with each other. So while Quil and Seth supervised, Nessie and Claire ran around, giggling and squealing at each other.

Paul was manning the grill, and Billy was barking orders at him, yelling at Paul each time he didn't flip a burger to Billy's satisfaction. Why Paul wasn't arguing with Billy, Jacob wasn't sure, but he guessed it was all part of Rachel's request that Paul should try to get along with the family more. Sue and Old Quil were nearby them, deep in discussion about God knows what. The old times, probably.

Only two members of the pack were missing: Rachel and Leah. Rachel had gone up to Seattle for the weekend to see some friends from college (she claimed it was just a coincidence that they'd agreed to meet up the same weekend as the bonfire, but nobody bought it). Leah, on the other hand, was supposed to be here, although she was always notoriously late to these things. While Jacob had come to accept the all-wolf bonfires as a fact of life, Leah had not.

A huge bang echoed around the camp, causing everyone to jump a little bit. Sam stood up immediately as the trees shook. But before anyone could phase or react, a tree fell to the ground at the edge of the forest.

"Sorry, everyone!" Colin came running out of the woods, pieces of shattered Frisbee in his hands, "I threw it a little too hard."

"Be careful, Colin," Billy warned with a laugh, "I think they probably heard that in Forks."

"Sorry!" Colin apologized again, "Jacob, come play with us!"

"You just broke the Frisbee!" Jacob pointed at one of the neon green shreds in Colin's hand.

"There's another one," Emily reached into her oversized tote and pulled out an identical Frisbee. She tossed it halfheartedly to Jacob, but Sam grabbed it before Jacob could.

"Come on, Jared. Let's play!" Sam clapped Jared on the back as Sam walked by with the Frisbee in his hands. Jared immediately obeyed orders and stood up, but not before giving Kim a quick kiss. Both Jacob and Jared followed Sam to the larger clearing where Embry, Colin, and Brady were waiting.

"I'll watch Nessie and Claire. You two should go play," Emily said to Quil and Seth who were still sitting by their imprints. Jacob watched as they glanced nervously at each other, unsure of what to do. Leaving their imprints was still unthinkable to them, even after all these months.

"Auntie Emmy!" Claire squealed as Emily approached.

Quil shrugged and stood up, "I'm going to go play Frisbee with the pack, okay, Claire-bear?"

Claire didn't seem to care one way or the other. Seth followed Quil's lead, explaining to Nessie that he was going to play Frisbee with the pack and instructing her to sit with Emily and watch him. Nessie was a little more hesitant, but once she saw what was happening, she didn't seem to mind.

Paul turned the grill over to Billy at Sam's urging, and all nine of the guys started what was quickly becoming an epic Frisbee tournament. They all remained human but the Frisbee whizzed back and forth, from the edge of the cliffs into the forest, dodging trees as they ran at speeds that were a little too fast for pure humans to maintain for any length of time. They laughed as they crashed into each other with a force that would normally put a person out of the game. But with their quick healing, it was nothing. There were downsides to being a werewolf, lots of them, but times when the whole pack played Frisbee like this showed Jacob that were, in fact, upsides, too.

The game continued for some time, with the non-wolf pack members watching. Claire and Nessie both thought the whole spectacle was hilarious; they roared with laughter each time any of the wolves had to slide to catch the Frisbee or jump especially high. Even Billy cheered Jacob on when the Frisbee headed squarely between Jacob and Brady.

"Let me get some water!" Jacob huffed after an especially long chase after the Frisbee that ended in collusion with Embry.

Jacob was quite a distance from the bonfire by now, almost at the break in the trees where they parked all the cars. Jacob could hear footsteps and he spun around, knowing that everyone was closer to the bonfire than him. About fifty feet behind him was Leah, late as always, walking slowly and dressed in a tank top that clung to her body tightly. She was wearing jeans and holding a cardigan and looked more put together than Jacob had seen in months.

"Hey, Leah!" Jacob called, waiting for her to catch up with him.

"Hey, Jake," She smiled at him as she approached, "How's the bonfire going?"

"So far, so good. Paul didn't burn any of the burgers and now we're all playing Frisbee. You should join. It's pretty fun." To illustrate Jacob's point, Colin used a nearby tree to jump unnaturally high to catch the Frisbee in midair.

"Hmph," Leah eyed the packs and their game disapprovingly. They were approaching the bonfire now, "Maybe I will. After I get some food."

"You should!" Jacob encouraged.

The water bottle that Jacob had brought was sitting just outside of the fire, in a pile with everyone else's stuff. Jacob grabbed it as Leah greeted the few people not playing Frisbee. Jacob couldn't help but notice that Kim jumped up as soon as Leah approached the bonfire and followed Leah to the mostly abandoned food table. With his werewolf hearing, it was easy to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"So… how was it?" Kim whispered to Leah. How was what? Jacob wondered. Did Leah actually have a reason she was late to the bonfire and she wasn't just late due to general ire at the pack?

"Shhh!" Leah chastised, but a quick glance at her showed Jacob that she had a smile on her face as she said it. He turned away, embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping, and acted like he wasn't listening to every word Leah was saying, "It was good."

"What did you guys do? Did you like him? Are you going to see him again?" Kim buzzed. Jacob could hear the excitement in her voice. He took another purposeful drink out of his water bottle.

"We just got coffee at a place in Port Angeles. He was funny. Sweeter than I was expecting."

"So will you see him again?" Kim repeated.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob saw Leah smile and shrug, "Let's just say that if he asks I won't say no."

"Did you kiss?"

"Yeah," Leah sounded gleeful, almost smug.

Jacob's stomach dropped. All of this was news to him. Leah hadn't told Jacob that she was going on a date. He turned away and tuned out the rest of their conversation; he barely heard Kim pressing Leah for more details as he realized that he didn't want to hear anything else.

Jacob walked away from the bonfire, past the Frisbee game, in a state of stunned silence. Leah was dating again. Embry turned to him with a confused look as Jacob passed him.

"Bathroom," Jacob said as an excuse. Normally the guys just peed in the forest, but not in front of everyone. They had dignity like that. This excuse allowed Jacob to go further away from the group and take a second to collect his thoughts.

Jacob had known Leah his entire life, and never once had she told him about her love life. Sure, Jacob saw some of it in her thoughts now that they were constantly in each other's heads, but never once had Leah given him updates about it. Jacob had found out from Rachel and Rebecca that Leah was dating Sam and he'd heard about their breakup after hearing Billy and Harry gossip. Leah was never the one to tell him any of this. Why would now be any different?

It wouldn't be. Of course, it wouldn't be any different. Everything else in Leah and Jacob's lives had changed, but this had not. A familiar feeling of jealousy seeped through Jacob's veins. Leah hadn't betrayed him, not like Bella had, of course. He'd never made a move on Leah. He barely even liked Leah as a person; it wasn't like he was in love with her.

Jacob and Leah were friends – and nothing more. But still, it was friendship. After all, he'd confided in her about his fear that Quil wouldn't make it into the dual enrollment program and his worries about Embry and Ms. Call. He'd even told her about his worries about the upcoming trip to Hawaii and seeing Rebecca again after so many years. But none of those were quite as personal as dating or love life.

And then there was the mystery guy himself. All those nights Jacob had spent on patrol with Leah, and he couldn't remember her thinking of anyone romantically (other than Sam – but that hadn't been for months). The mystery guy must be someone from her classes in Port Angeles. Some college guy. Suddenly, Jacob was reminded that, even though he may have been Alpha, in the real world, Leah was so far out of his league it was laughable. She was three years older than him. She'd been a senior when he was a freshman. And now she was in college and – even if he got into the stupid dual enrollment program – he was still facing a year and a half of high school.

Jacob had always known Leah was beautiful. He'd known it when he was five and she was eight and she was bossing him around with his sisters. He'd known it when he saw her taking pictures for prom her junior year of high school and he was nothing but an awkward middle schooler. He'd even known it when he was fixing up the bikes with Bella before either of them phased and entered the world of the supernatural. The only time he'd ever doubted it was after they both had phased and they were both so angry. But he could see now that anger had clouded his judgment. It was a fact of life; Leah Clearwater was beautiful.

She was beautiful, but she was three years older and his Beta. And now, apparently, unavailable. It would have been a bad idea no matter what, Jacob knew, a way to make pack life more complicated than it already was. And she wasn't likely to see him as anything but an overgrown kid. But still. There was a certain sting that Jacob didn't want to admit. Maybe he really did like Leah a little more than he should.

"Hey, Jake. Everything okay?" Quil approached Jacob from the direction of the bonfire. Jacob didn't know how long he had been standing alone in the woods, away from everyone else. But it was apparently long enough where people needed to worry about him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured Quil. This was one topic he couldn't broach with Quil or Embry or anyone. How pathetic it would be for them to find out that he had a little crush on their Beta. No, this was something he needed to keep to himself.

"Oh good," Quil said, "Leah was asking about you. Wanted to know if you were ready for patrol in a few."

Fuck. How could Jacob have forgotten that it was he and Leah on patrol tonight? He'd never wanted to protect his thoughts more than he currently did – not even when Leah took no shame in mercilessly shaming him for his former crush on a vampire girl. If Jacob thought that was bad… well, this would be even worse.

"Uh, Quil?" Jacob asked. He followed Quil back towards the bonfire, staying a couple of paces behind his friend, "Could you do me a favor?"

"Anything, oh-fearless-leader."

"Could you take my shift tonight?"

Quil turned around to look up at Jacob with a confused expression, "You want me to take your patrol shift?"

"Yeah, you don't mind, do you? Emily can make sure that Claire gets home. And I'll take your next one – I promise." Quil's next shift was with Seth and it wasn't for another four days. Jacob would figure out a way to get the awful thoughts of Leah kissing some college guy out of his head by then.

"Yeah, I can take it," Quil still had the puzzled expression on his face as he spun around and continued walking, "Can I ask why, though?"

"I just want a night off, that's all," Jacob lied.

"Your wish is my command, almighty Alpha."

"Quil?"

"Yeah, Jake?"

"Shut up."

Quil huffed out a laugh and slapped Jacob hard on the back. Jacob chuckled and the two of them made their way to the bonfire, where Jacob managed to plaster a fake smile on to his face and avoid Leah for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! Sorry that this is late, please know that this is hardly the only thing in my life I'm behind on! 
> 
> I just want to say thank you for the comments and all the Kudos - it really means the world to me! Please let me know your thoughts!


	12. Chapter 12

Much to Leah's dismay, her third date with Danny was at an Italian restaurant in Port Angeles and it happened to be at the same place and at the same time that Connie Littlesea was celebrating her birthday. And Connie was the biggest gossip in all of La Push, and within twenty-four hours everyone in La Push and half the people in Forks had heard the news. Leah Clearwater was dating again.

Because Leah couldn't do anything without her fellow wolves giving her their unsolicited opinion, they all had something to say on it. When Leah and Sam were the first ones to arrive at their weekly meeting with the Elders, Sam tried to say how he was glad to hear she was dating again and how he just wanted to see Leah be happy (she told him to shove it, but Jake appeared just before she was able to punch him). Jared suggested that she and Danny double with him and Kim some time (Leah just hmphed in a non-committal fashion; she liked Kim and Jared was okay but doubling made it seem serious somehow). Leah ran into Rachel and Paul at the store and when Rachel asked for the details Paul simply said, "he must be pretty stupid if he's willing to date Leah." (Rachel elbowed him and apologized but Leah hadn't expected anything else from Paul). Colin just apologized for his mom being "so massively uncool" (he had been at the restaurant with his mom and in typical middle school fashion, he was way more embarrassed to be seen with his parents than Leah could possibly be to be on a date). Only Brady didn't say anything at all but that wasn't surprising since Leah was pretty sure she could count all the times she'd spoken to Brady on two hands.

Seth had tried and failed to play the role of a protective brother. Ultimately his sweet demeanor made him incapable of being threatening; not that Leah was planning on bringing Danny anywhere near La Push or her family anyway. Sue simply said the same thing she'd said when Leah had started dating Sam all those years ago ("you better be being safe") and reminded Leah that if Leah got pregnant out of wedlock she'd be disowned. Not that Leah had to worry about that. It'd been almost a year since she phased and she still hadn't had a period.

But the three morons had remained suspiciously silent about Leah's dating life. She'd been prepared for never-ending teasing but they were so quiet about it she wondered if they'd even heard the news. La Push was a small place, she couldn't imagine that they hadn't heard and yet she also couldn't see Jake Alpha-ordering Embry and Quil into silence, which was the only other reasonable explanation for the lack of teasing. But despite the unusualness of it all, Leah decided that silence was preferable to endless questions and unsolicited opinions.

Leah had barely seen or talked to Jacob for several weeks. Inexplicably, he had changed his patrol schedule so that she always patrolled with Quil, Embry, or Seth. They still had the meetings with the Elders together, of course, but Jacob had taken to showing up moments before they started and disappearing immediately after they ended. Leah tried not to take it personally, but it stung a little bit; she had gotten accustomed to their walks afterward and the conversations that they would have while on patrol together. At first, she put it off as him studying for the dual-enrollment tests (he was much more nervous about them than he would ever admit, she could tell) but the three morons had taken their tests and were now waiting for their results. It was the first week of March and spring break in La Push and they weren't expecting them till mid-March, but Jacob had still avoided her.

All of this was on Leah's mind as painted her nails in the Connweller's kitchen on Saturday night. Kim had invited her over for a girls' night, as Kim put it. Leah tried to ignore the fact that Emily and Sam had gone up to Neah Bay to stay with Emily's parents for the weekend and Jared was on patrol, but maybe Kim hadn't known all that when she'd asked Leah to come over. Maybe she'd done it out of genuine friendship and not because the usual people she hung out with were busy.

"Kim! Did you steal my nail polish?" Amy's voice echoed from down the hall of the little ranch house that the Connwellers lived in.

"I didn't steal it!" Kim yelled, sounding more than a little indignant, "I borrowed it – and you do it all the time!"

"What? No, I don't," Amy marched into the kitchen, a grimace on her face, "Hi, Leah, I didn't know you were over here."

"I invited her over for a girls' night. So we're painting our nails. Like you do at a girls' night," Kim said.

"Hi Amy," Leah greeted Amy.

Amy sat down, earning an eye roll from Kim, "What are you guys doing?"

"I already told you. We're having a girls' night."

"Yeah, I know, but what are you doing at your girls' night?"

"We're going to paint our nails, order pizza, and watch a movie," Leah answered Amy, ignoring Kim's annoyed sigh. Their banter reminded her of the pack, though it was less violent and the boys of the pack wouldn't be caught dead fighting over nail polish.

"I like that color, Leah," Amy said, nodding at the light blue that Leah had selected.

"Thanks." Leah hadn't painted her nails in well over a year. She wasn't girly enough to do it with any type of regularity, and she definitely hadn't done it since phasing. A female wolf was bad enough, but a female wolf with painted nails? Laughable. But now it mattered less to her; the only people who were likely to see her in wolf form were members of her pack and the teasing that she'd endure would likely be friendlier in nature than antagonistic. And curiosity – what would happen when she phased with painted nails? Leah genuinely had no idea – made her want to paint them, too.

Without invitation, Amy picked up a bright pink nail polish from the box that had Kim had brought.

"Hey, that's mine!" Kim protested.

"Is not," Amy disagreed, "Besides, I'm joining your girls' night. I've decided."

"You can't just join our girls' night!"

"Why not?" Amy asked, "I'm a girl. It's night. And I'm friends with Leah, too."

"You two are coworkers, not friends." This was by far the cruelest Leah had ever heard Kim be. And all this time Leah had thought that Kim and Amy had a good relationship.

"We can be coworkers and friends!" Amy protested.

"She's fine, Kim, let her stay." Leah had never been a peacekeeper before, she'd always been the one instigating arguments. But she liked both Amy and Kim and it didn't bother her whether or not Amy joined.

"But we were going to talk about…" Kim trailed off and looked guiltily between Leah and her sister.

"What were you going to talk about?" Amy asked, "Leah's new guy?"

"Yes," Leah said quickly before Kim could say anything.

"Well then, give us the details," Amy urged.

So Leah spilled the beans, telling them in detail about her and Danny's first date and then the second and the third. Neither of the Connweller girls pressed for too many details, just asking if Danny was a good kisser (he was) and if Leah had any more plans to hang out with him (she did). But eventually, the attention turned to Amy, who had recently been asked out by some guy named Tyler who lived in Forks.

"I do not miss dating," Kim said as she examined her finished fingernails. Amy had just complained about dating a younger guy, something that both Leah and Kim didn't think was a big deal.

"Kim! Jared is your first boyfriend! You're going to have to date again at some point," Amy admonished.

"We'll see about that."

"You don't think you're going to marry him, do you?"

"I might." Kim winked at Leah when Amy wasn't looking. Leah tried to keep a knowing smirk off of her face but failed.

"You're eighteen! You're too young to be thinking about marriage."

"What can I say? When you know you know. Look at the Swan girl from Forks. She graduated the same year as me and she's already married."

"I would not use Bella as my role model, personally," Leah said, "It seems to me like she lives a cold, hard existence."

"Oh trust me, I'm not."

"Who's Bella? What are you two talking about?" Amy asked, visibly confused.

"Don't worry about it, Amy," Kim laughed.

Leah explained, "Bella Swan. You know the Chief of police in Forks? Charlie Swan? It's his daughter."

"You two aren't making any sense. How do you guys know Bella Swan? Why is her life cold and hard? Is that some type of joke?"

"Don't worry about it," Kim repeated, before quickly standing up, "Let's go watch movies! Amy, start the popcorn! I picked up three from the Forks Blockbuster. Have you guys seen Because of Winn Dixie or the 40 Year Old Virgin? What about Borat?"

The lights in the house were still on when Leah arrived home a few hours later, but the house itself was quiet. She could hear some light snoring from the living room, and as she made her way to the kitchen, Leah saw her mom passed out in a chair with the light on next to her. Using her wolf reflexes, Leah tiptoed to the kitchen, determined not to make a sound. She found the peanut butter and the bread and was in the process of making a peanut butter sandwich when she left the knife precariously balanced in the peanut butter, and it fell to the floor with a clang.

"Leah? Is that you?" Sue stirred from the chair that she had fallen asleep in. Her book was still wide open.

"I was trying to be quiet," Leah said sheepishly.

"It's okay," Sue yawned and stretched, "You should have woken me."

"Were you waiting up for me?" Leah asked between bites. Sue hadn't done that since Leah was in high school, and even then, she mostly did it when Leah was out with Sam, not when Leah was with friends.

"You and your brother," Sue admitted. Leah glanced at the clock. It was just past midnight. She'd never known Seth to stay so late at the vamps.

"Is he at the Cullens again?"

"No, he's with Brady and Colin tonight," Sue said, sounding relieved, "Just doing typical teenage things, I think. Did you have a nice time at Kim's?"

"I did." Leah made her way to the fridge where she pulled out a carton of yogurt, "Amy ended up joining us for most of the night. We watched movies and painted our nails. It was nice." It had felt normal. Like a normal night with friends, except for the fact that Leah never used to need to eat an entire extra meal after coming home.

"I'm glad," Sue yawned again, "It's nice that you have friends again."

Leah hadn't thought about how long it had been since she'd had real friends that she hung out regularly. Not since high school, and she'd graduated almost two years ago now.

"Yeah," Leah agreed, "It really is."

-&-

It was either a sign of Danny's sometimes disturbing lack of awareness or a testament to Leah's great luck that Danny had not yet noticed that Leah routinely showed up in Port Angeles without any type of vehicle. Leah just hadn't decided which yet. Either way, when Leah bid Danny goodbye with a quick kiss on Wednesday evening, he'd didn't seem to realize that Leah was walking in the direction of the forest, not towards the parking lot behind his small apartment building. But Leah doubted that Danny was the type of person to watch her as she left anyway.

It didn't take long for Leah to walk to the forest. Jacob still hadn't finished her damn car, though Quil and Embry both swore he was working on it in all his free time. She believed them; they had no reason to lie to her. And even if she did have her car, running was so much faster than driving. And so much more convenient. So she rarely tried to borrow the car, instead just phasing in the woods and running as a wolf. If Danny thought any of it suspicious, he didn't let her know.

As soon as she reached the forest, she started stripping. She'd come on one of her rare days off. Since it was spring break in La Push, the kids were taking the day patrols and she, Sam, Paul, and Jared had a glorious week without any patrols, although she still had work and classes. Night patrols, however, were a different story and she was scheduled to patrol tonight with Embry. She wondered if she couldn't convince Seth to take the shift instead, since it wasn't like he was doing anything tomorrow. Leah had two classes and she'd told Danny she might meet up with him to study.

After taking care to tie up her clothes around her ankle, she phased. It was effortless by now, as easy as walking. She picked up her book bag and held it in her mouth, careful to keep her oversized tongue away from it. It was destined to get a little gross, no matter what she did but she tried to minimize the damage all the same. And she reminded herself that this was so much better than calling her mom to pick her up from the apartment of the guy that she was dating (She wasn't ready to use the word boyfriend. Not yet).

She took only two steps before she realized she wasn't alone in the bond.

_Jake?_ She asked hesitantly. She wasn't sure who else it would be.

_What's up, Leah?_ Jacob's thoughts were guarded. He was focusing especially hard on the beautiful scene in front of him. Through his eyes, she could see a lush forest bathed in the sun. It looked like he'd found a clearing in the lush forest. It seemed empty, but he wasn't in Washington. This wasn't a place he knew like the back of his hand.

_Should you be phased?_ Leah couldn't help but ask. It seemed risky. He hardly knew the terrain there; he'd only been there since Saturday.

_It's fine,_ he promised her, _Solomon showed me this place. Told me it's where he goes to think. And he's currently training right now, but I'm listening carefully. I'll hear if anyone comes._

_He's not some creep then?_ Leah had always wondered. Meeting someone online and marrying them mere days after meeting in person… the whole thing had been weird to Leah.

_Yeah, he's pretty cool, actually. And they have a nice little house. It's all good. Rebecca seems happy._ An image of a smiling Rebecca – or who Leah thought must be Rebecca, she'd cut her hair and gained some weight – filled the bond. Jacob showed Leah a memory of the woman showing Rachel, Billy, and Jacob her house and picking them up from the airport. There was no denying what Jacob was saying; Leah couldn't remember Becca ever looking so happy, not even when Sarah was still alive.

_That's nice, Jacob,_ Leah said sincerely. Jacob deserved a nice vacation, away from the responsibilities of being Alpha and school. Even Leah wouldn't deny that.

_It is,_ Jacob agreed.

_Where are they now?_

_Becca and Rachel went shopping, I think. Or on a walk on the beach. And Billy's napping. No one will miss me, I promise. How are things in La Push?_

_In La Push? They're good,_ Leah thought for a moment. Her job on the resort had been normal, a little busier now that spring break had arrived. Seth had managed to separate himself from the Cullens for long enough to go visit family in Neah Bay for a day and spend time with Colin and Brady. She hadn't seen much of Quil or Embry, although Embry, as third, did attend the weekly meeting with the Elders that Jacob had missed (Billy had missed it too, so it wasn't really much of a meeting).

_No vampires?_

Leah let out a laugh, _Other than the coven down the road, no. Any there?_

_Haven't caught a whiff of one once._

_Good. Wouldn't want you to have to take on any vampires without the help of the pack._

_I could take them. If it wasn't a coven, I could take a single vampire. No help from the pack needed._

_Sure, sure,_ Leah scoffed.

_I could!_

_Whatever you say fearless Alpha._

_It's probably better that we don't test that theory,_ Jacob admitted.

_Probably,_ Leah agreed. She was over halfway home by now; the run passed quickly with Jake in the pack mind with her.

_So what all is going on with you?_

They talked about the meeting with the Elders and Leah's classes, though they skirted around the topic of where Leah was coming from. She told him about her girls' night with Kim and Amy and he told her about an awkward dinner with his whole family and Becca showing them around the island. Their conversation flowed easily, like one between friends. Because that's what they were, Leah realized, they were friends.

Leah hadn't done it consciously, but she had slowed down, not running as quickly as she usually did. She wondered what time it was; she was supposed to patrol at 9.

_You're on patrol tonight?_ Jacob asked.

_Yes. With Embry._

It was Embry's first night patrol in several weeks, as Jacob (and now Leah, since Jacob was out of town), had been taking his night patrols in an attempt to keep Embry out of trouble. It was endearing, really, how Jacob cared about his friends. But it had been several weeks, and Embry was insisting that they let him back on night patrols, Tiffany Call's wrath be damned.

_Have fun,_ Jake said.

_It's patrol._

Jacob laughed, _Who knows? You don't know what's going to happen tonight._

_I do know. I'm going to patrol and it's going to be boring._

_You never know. Maybe this will be an interesting one._

_And maybe pigs will fly._

_Goodbye, Leah. Enjoy patrol._

Leah bid Jacob goodbye and told him, sincerely, that she hoped he enjoyed the rest of his trip, begging him to try to get some rest and spend some time with his family. Jake just told her to stop nagging him, but he was light-hearted about it.

Due to her slow return to La Push, Leah had just enough time to drop off her stuff, say hello to Sue and Seth, and wolf down four whole ham sandwiches before she ran back out to the forest for her night patrol.

By the time Leah had phased back for her patrol shift, Jacob had left the pack mind, and Embry had phased in. After brief greetings, Embry and Leah separated as Leah took the northern part of the border and Embry took the southern line. They were mostly silent as they patrolled; with nothing more than polite questions about how Embry's break was going and Leah's week at school filling the bond.

Within two hours, the routine boredom of the patrols started to set in. Night patrols were the worst. Ironically, most of the action had always been during the day patrols, although now there was really no action at all. The patrols were nothing more than a precautionary step against imaginary danger.

Leah's mind started to wander. She wondered what Jacob was doing in Hawaii. He'd mentioned that Becca wanted to take them to some type of luau tonight and Leah wondered if they were there. It was hard to imagine Jacob at a luau, although Leah had seen him in all manner of tribal events growing up.

_When did you talk to Jake?_ Embry asked, clearly having seen her thoughts.

_He was phased when I was running back from Port Angeles._

_Really? In Hawaii?_

_Yep._

_That doesn't seem smart._

_Jacob knows what he's doing._

_Is he having fun? I haven't talked to him at all since he left._

_He seems to be._ Leah remembered the tropical fauna that Jacob had seen in his secluded little area. It was pretty; she wished she were in Hawaii instead of rainy old Washington.

_I wish I were in Hawaii, too._ Embry saw her thoughts and imagined himself at the beach.

_It's your fault that Jacob is in Hawaii in the first place,_ Leah reminded him.

_My fault?! How is it my fault?!_

_Rebecca wanted to come here but Rachel and Jacob were worried that you or one of the infant wolves would imprint on her and ruin her marriage._

_Yeah, that wouldn't have happened. Rachel just worries too much._

_It could have. Better to be safe than sorry._ And smart of Rachel to get a free trip to Hawaii while she could. Even without the imprinting thing, Leah thought that this was the better deal.

_I'm not going to imprint,_ Embry insisted again.

_You don't know that. It's not, like, voluntary. Look at Quil and Seth._

_I'm not going to imprint,_ Embry repeated, _At least not on Rebecca._

_What? Why do you think that – oh, my god did you find out something about your dad!? Is Billy your father?! Is Rebecca your sister?!_ Out of respect for the new pack, Leah tried not to mention Embry's unknown parentage anymore. But that didn't mean she wasn't still immensely curious about it.

_What – no! No! I don't know who my dad is._ Leah could sense the shame that Embry was feeling about his unknown parentage, as well as an unusual panicky feeling, _I just like to assume it was Sam's dad. It's easier that way._

_Then how can you be so sure you're not going to imprint?_ Leah asked again.

_I'm just not._

_Embry, I don't know how you can be so confident about this. You could imprint tomorrow on some pale-face girl. You can't control it._

Embry let out an exasperated sigh, _I'm not going to imprint because I'm gay, Leah. There's no girl on earth I could imprint on and be happily spend the rest of my life with._

Oh, oh, oh. That was not the reason that Leah would have guessed. And from Embry's worried thoughts, she could tell she pushed too far, _I didn't – I didn't know._

_You won't tell Jacob, will you?_ Embry's thoughts were a swirled mess as he desperately tried to figure out how to keep this a secret.

_Jacob doesn't know?_ Leah didn't realize the three morons kept things from one another. She thought they were an open book.

_No one knows. You won't tell anyone, will you?_

_No, of course not,_ Leah promised, _But why haven't you told Jacob?_

_What if he's not cool with it? What if he hates me for it? He's my best friend, Leah, I can't risk losing him._

_Embry, his only other two friends are basically pedophiles. If he's not cool with you having an age-appropriate relationship with another guy your age, that's a problem with him, not you. But I won't tell him. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to._

_Thanks, Leah._ Leah could tell that Embry was genuinely touched by her words.

Leah waited a second before continuing, _You could still imprint, though, Embry. Just on a guy, not a girl._

_No, I don't think so. Isn't the whole thing about imprinting that it's meant to pass on the wolf gene? I can't do that if I'm not with a woman._

_That was just Sam's stupid theory. And I think it went out the window when Seth imprinted on Nessie._

_What?_

_Aren't you supposed to be the smart one? Half-breeds are rarely fertile. Like mules. They're half-donkey, half-horse and they're infertile._

_Oh, I mean, I guess, maybe. But we don't really know, maybe Nessie can have kids,_ Embry was still doubtful, _I just mean that half of the wolves have imprinted by now and the two of us still haven't._

It took a second for Leah to realize what Embry meant. She hadn't imprinted and she also hadn't had a period in almost a year now. Embry hadn't imprinted and, apparently, he had no biological urge to pass on the wolf gene. He was right. The realization caused her to stop running.

_I'm sorry, Leah, I didn't mean to upset you._

_It's just Sam's stupid theory. We don't know anything for sure._ She didn't want to believe Sam was right about anything, but especially this. She hated to think of her future nieces and nephews being quarter vampire – she preferred to pretend that Nessie definitely couldn't have kids. And she hated to think about her own infertility if that's really what it was. Leah was only twenty – she considered herself too young to have kids - but she didn't like the idea that the decision would be made for her. Leah liked freewill, she liked making her own decisions about things.

_You're right. We don't know why people imprint. But I wouldn't imprint on Rebecca,_ Embry reiterated, _that's for sure._

_No, you wouldn't,_ Leah agreed, _Even fate wouldn't be that cruel._

Leah started running again, picking up where she left off. She mulled over what Embry had just told her. She'd never heard of Embry going on a date or being with a girl, and the res was a small place where everyone gossiped about everything (the number of people who'd asked her about her new "boyfriend" was a testament to that).

_You can ask, Leah._ Embry sounded resigned.

_Just give me the details! Have you ever had a boyfriend? Or even a crush?_

_I… yes. There's a white guy who lives just outside of the Makah reservation._ Embry admitted.

_So is he your boyfriend?_ It was nice to gossip about someone else's love life for a change.

_I wouldn't call Tristan my boyfriend. He's just a guy that I make out with if we both happen to run into each other in Neah Bay. We spent New Year's Eve together but I haven't seen him since._ Embry's thoughts made it clear that Embry went to a lot of trouble to run into Tristan each time Embry visited Neah Bay.

_And nobody else knows about this?_

_No. And you better not tell them._

_I won't. I can keep a secret,_ Leah promised, _But Embry, how did you manage to keep Tristan a secret?_

Everyone else had slipped up and thought of their significant others in ways that Leah never wanted to know about. She'd seen images of Emily naked and Kim on her knees. Paul had routinely fantasized about the random girls he'd been with before he imprinted on Rachel (who Leah had also seen naked images of in Paul's mind, back when the packs were still combined). Undoubtedly, the lack of naked women in the pack mind in the new pack was an unexpected, but very welcome, perk.

_Well, I've only seen him a few times since phasing. And we're not like… yeah. We're not like the imprints. It's not like that. But mostly I just try to focus really hard on what I'm doing. Everything I smell and see. And I ask a lot of questions about other people's thoughts._

_I'll have to try that,_ Leah mused.

_Don't want people to know about your sex life?_ Embry teased.

_There are certain things I'd like to be kept secret._

_Well just keep your nose to the ground and focus on reading the other person's thoughts. You can do it, Leah. I'm counting on you._

_I won't let you down._ She wouldn't do that to Embry, not know that she knew the truth. And it was in her best interest to learn to keep her thoughts to herself.

_Thanks, Leah. You're a good friend._

_You're welcome, Embry._ Maybe she had more friends than she thought.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Jacob jumped up out of his seat into the aisle as soon as the captain turned off the fasten seatbelt sign. The flight had been long, and he was way too tall to be crammed into these tiny Hawaiian airline economy seats for hours on end.

"Really, Jacob?" Rachel hissed.

Jacob ignored her. She'd been grouchy ever since they'd said goodbye to her twin, and even before then, really. He wasn't sure about the details, but he gathered that Rebecca had confronted her one more time about why Rachel was so adamant that Rebecca didn't come to La Push and it had ended in an argument. Rebecca was convinced that the rest of the family was keeping something from her. And to Rebecca's credit, they were, so Jacob understood her frustration.

"Son, we have to wait for everyone to deplane and for them to get the chair," Billy said from the middle seat, "You might as well take a seat."

Jacob shook his head and grabbed both his and Billy's carry-on bags from the overhead bin disregarding the people in the seats in front of them, "I can meet you guys in the terminal."

"Jacob…" Rachel sighed.

"We don't all need to wait," Jacob said harshly, "I'll take the bags and wait in the terminal. You two can wait for them to get the chair."

"Why should you get to go?" Rachel spat back.

"Let him go," Billy cut in, sounding equally tired as Rachel.

Jacob shot a triumphant look at Rachel, who was glaring at him with her arms crossed. The people in front of Jacob were starting to move, so he grabbed both his and Billy's bag.

"You got your bag, Rachel?" he didn't wait for her to respond before he followed the people in front of him off.

Jacob followed the passengers in front of him off the plane and through the jet bridge. The weight of the bags he was carrying was nothing to him, but the relief of getting out of that stupid metal tube was everything. Apparently, vampires could swim across oceans if they wanted to; he hated those stupid leeches but he'd give a lot for the ability to never set foot in a plane again. If Rebecca ever wanted to see him again, they'd have to meet somewhere where Jacob could drive to, or wait until all the wolves had imprinted and Rebecca's precious marriage was no longer at risk.

The worst part about all of this was that they still had nearly a four-hour drive home. Jacob was sure he could do it faster as a wolf, running, but the bigger question was whether or not he could do it undetected. Both Jared and Sam had done it before, he knew, not from the airport but all the way to Seattle. And Jacob was starting to think it was a risk worth taking.

Jacob waited for Billy and Rachel at the end of the gate area. He watched almost a full flight of people deplane and hurry off to wherever it was they were going before the other passengers who were wheelchair-bound were helped off. Finally, Billy and Rachel were the last people off the plane, Billy with Rachel's carry on bag on his lap being pushed by a glaring Rachel.

"Thanks for your help, Jacob," Rachel snarled as she pushed Billy up to Jacob and let go of the handles, clearly telling Jacob to push Billy. She took her bag from Billy's lap and grabbed Billy's from beside Jacob.

Jacob couldn't help but laugh, "I took care of Dad for years while you and Becca were away. It won't hurt you to help out this once."

"Jacob, we can discuss this later," Billy said, exhaustion evident in his voice.

"Fine," Jacob snapped.

In silence, the three of them trudged through the Seattle airport, all the way to baggage claim. It was late enough that the airport was mostly empty, the only crowds being the ones at the gates to overnight flights to faraway places.

As luck wasn't on their side, the baggage carousel was empty and showing no signs of moving when they finally arrived. Their fellow weary travelers had already gathered there and they joined them, standing in silence as they waited for the bags to appear. They had managed to only check two bags among the three of them, and waiting for those checked bags felt like an eternity. And of course, the two checked bags were some of the last on the carousel.

In the same silence, the three of them made their way to the long term parking garage. Jacob had never dreaded a car ride more. The car was parked in the handicapped slot, near the entrance to the airport.

"Can I drive?" The only thing that would make the long drive back better would be if Jacob were behind the wheel. Nothing on Earth sounded worse than spending four hours crammed into the backseat of Rachel's car.

"It's my car," Rachel retorted.

"That I fixed up," Jacob muttered under his breath. But there was no point in arguing. Rachel always got her way when she was like this. Eldest child privilege or whatever.

"C'mon, you two," Billy grumbled, "We had a nice trip – let's all get along for a few more hours till we make it home."

Wordlessly, Rachel unlocked the car. Jacob immediately started loading the luggage into the trunk of the car, while Rachel helped Billy transfer to the passenger seat. Not for the first time that day, Jacob wished he knew the way from Seattle to La Push through the forest.

By the time Rachel had reached the 101, Jacob felt physically sick. The backseat, after the long plane ride, was tiring and claustrophobic. The pop radio station that Rachel had chosen was giving him a headache, something he rarely experienced now that he was a wolf.

"Can you let me out at the rest stop up there?" Jacob doubted that Rachel would pull over, even though there was a rest stop only a mile or so down the road. He contemplated jumping out of the moving car, but even with his wolf abilities, he wasn't sure he'd be able to land it and still make the journey home. Plus, there were other cars around that would surely see him jump. But the forest was thick around the roads. If he could just make it to there, it was heavily wooded enough that Jacob had no doubt he would be able to run home without detection.

"Jacob, why?" Rachel sighed. She strummed her fingers against the wheel impatiently.

"So I can run home," he answered piercingly.

"So you can run home," Rachel mocked, "Well aren't you so lucky! We all wish we could get home faster. There's nothing wrong with the car."

"You don't wish that. You don't wish you were me, stuck in La Push while you went away for college." Jacob was starting to tremble.

"Pull over and let him out, Rachel," Billy instructed before Rachel could say anything else.

"Dad…"

"Rachel, pull over." Billy's voice left no room to argue.

Rachel obeyed with a dramatic sigh. As soon as the car came to a stop, Jacob jumped out of the car, feeling like freedom had come at last.

"We'll see you at home, son," Billy said through his rolled-down window. Next to him, Rachel was scowling.

Jacob responded with a triumphant wave before he hurried off to the forest. No one else was parked at the rest stop, so without worrying about the watchful eyes of others, Jacob stripped and phased as soon as he was away from the lights.

There was no one else phased when Jacob joined the pack mind. Jacob couldn't remember the patrol schedule exactly, but he was pretty sure that it was someone in Sam's pack night to patrol. He tried to imagine what the rest of his pack would be doing on a Saturday night, but he had a feeling none of it would involve any wolfish antics.

With the trees rushing by him, Jacob felt a sense of freedom that he hadn't felt the entire time he was in Hawaii. It hadn't been a bad trip. It was good to see Rebecca, and he liked Solomon. Billy had enjoyed the beach and seeing his whole family together and even Rachel seemed to have fun and enjoy herself until Rebecca had talked to her today. But there was something about being stuck with his family without the opportunity to go run around that had made him almost claustrophobic.

He hadn't blamed the twins for leaving La Push in the beginning. And he rarely did now. Sure, it had sucked when he was the one who had to help Billy manage his diabetes medication. And it was shitty that Jacob was the one who had to go to doctor's appointments with Billy and cook dinner and all that other stuff. But in many ways, Jacob had gotten used to it. It was just part of his life, and the twins didn't know much about it. Even now that Rachel was living at home again, she didn't help out very often. Perhaps the strangest thing about the trip was seeing both Rachel and Becca help out so much with their dad. The entire time they were there, it was Becca and Solomon who helped Billy navigate the stairs that led up to their small house. Rachel always got the wheelchair for him when he was in the car. It was a strange, jarring twist in the reality that Jacob was so used to.

Jacob wasn't sure what time it was when he started to recognize the signs of La Push, the signs of being home. But he didn't feel like going back to the house yet. Instead, he found himself running a bit further as he tried to imagine life if his mother had lived. Would Billy be in a wheelchair? Would Rebecca live in Hawaii? Would Rachel help out more? Questions that Jacob knew would never be answered. All Jacob knew was that life would be different. Different and probably better.

He ran circles until his legs ached and his anger had faded and he didn't feel the need to yell at Rachel anymore. Only then did Jacob find his way back to the familiar house he'd lived his whole life in.

There was only one light on in the house when Jacob arrived back home. Werewolf hearing meant that Jacob could tell that there was only a single inhabitant there: Billy.

"Where's Rachel?" Jacob asked immediately after he let himself in the door.

"She went to go find Paul after she dropped me off," Billy told him. His chair was pulled off to the side of the living room, but the TV was off, almost as if he had just been sitting there, waiting for Jacob. But Billy never waited up for Jacob.

"Do you need help getting to bed?"

"No, I'll be fine. But Jacob," Billy started in his voice that he used only when he was about to make a speech and Jacob mentally braced himself for what would come next, "I know you've done a lot to help me out these last few years. And I know it's been tough on you. It's more responsibility than any kid should ever have to take on. And I understand why you're frustrated with your sisters. They haven't always been there to help and you've had to pick up the slack. But I'm thankful for everything you've done and all your help. You're a good kid and your mom would be proud of you."

"I… Thanks, Dad," Jacob said. He looked over at Billy, who somehow looked older than usual, sitting with his hands in his lap. Jacob had been expecting a lecture and yet he'd gotten this.

"I'm proud of you, son."

"Thanks, Dad."

"I'm going to bed now. Have a good night." With those words, Billy rolled himself back to his bedroom, leaving Jacob alone with his thoughts.

-&-

The familiar sound of rain pounded against the roof of the garage. Jacob fiddled with the engine of Leah's car. Since landing last night, he'd arrived back at the house, slept for approximately ten hours, and then headed out to work on it. He really did feel bad that it wasn't done yet; he'd meant to finish it by the time he left for Hawaii.

It was still fairly early in the morning, though Jacob had gotten used to Hawaii Time when he was there, so it felt earlier than it was. Unfortunately, since he'd been sleeping on the couch in Rebecca and Solomon's living room, he hardly got a chance to sleep in – Solomon woke up early each morning to train and Rebecca normally got up with him, and the two of them made enough noise to wake up even the soundest of sleepers.

Jacob dug through his toolbox, looking for his good screwdriver. Everything seemed slightly off like someone had moved everything an inch to left. He decided that Embry or Quil must have come to borrow the screwdriver in his absence since it was nowhere to be found.

"Yo, Jacob!" Quil yelled. Speak of the Devil… Jacob heard the door handle move.

There was a pounding on the door to the garage, "Let us in!"

"It's open, you losers!" The door occasionally got stuck, but Quil and Embry had werewolf strength. They could force the door in if they wanted.

A little more fiddling with the door, and one of them finally got the door open. Quil and Embry stumbled into the garage.

"Dude," Quil said, as he came forward, Embry not far behind. Both boys sat down dramatically on the couch, "How was it?"

"Good," Jacob said, keeping his head under the hood of the car.

"Jacob, man, it's been over a week. Leah's car can wait. We want to hear about your trip," Embry popped open one of the warm sodas that Jacob kept in the garage. He took a sip and stared at Jacob.

Jacob closed the hood of the car and faced his friends, "I went to Hawaii. It was good. Rebecca's husband is a nice guy, not a creep like everyone thought. I went to the beach. That's all. How were your breaks?"

Embry rolled his eyes, "We were both here in La Push doing nothing."

"You gotta give us more details than that, Jake," Quil pressed, "Were there hot girls on the beach? Did you surf? Did you swim?"

"Yes. To all of the above," Jacob said grouchily. Quil and Embry both gave him an annoyed look, and Jacob relented. He recounted his various Hawaiian adventures, including surfing with Solomon and family dinners and the luau that Rebecca had dragged them all to and in the name of experiencing Hawaiian culture ("Did you get any pictures?" Quil asked, "Cause I need to see those!"). Embry, who was known to occasionally surf here in La Push, asked many questions about Solomon and his professional surfing career, much to the irritation of Quil, who had never managed to master the art of standing up on the board for longer than thirty seconds at a time.

"Are the girls there beautiful and tanned?" Quil asked, clearly bored after Jacob described everything he knew about Solomon's training routine to Quil.

"Uh…" Not as beautiful as Leah. The words came to Jacob's head before he could stop them and he had never been so happy that he was talking to his two friends in human form, not wolf form. He couldn't handle the two of them knowing that he thought their grouchy Beta was hotter than all those bikini-clad girls he saw on the beaches in Hawaii. Leah would kill it in a bikini. He just knew it.

"What happened to the whole 'I don't see other girls' thing, dude?" Embry asked Quil, ignoring Jacob's stammers and giving Jacob a chance to recover.

Quil shrugged, "I don't see othr girls, but that doesn't mean Jacob doesn't. He could go for a hot Hawaiian girlfriend."

"Well I didn't end up with a hot Hawaiian girlfriend, that's for sure," Jacob assured Quil as soon as Jacob's mind managed to stop picturing Leah on the beach in Hawaii.

"Did you even try?" Embry asked.

"What? No, of course not," Jacob said, "Why would I have tried? What type of hot Hawaiian girl would want to date a seventeen-year-old?"

"Ah, but you don't look seventeen," Quil pointed out, before popping open his own warm soda, "You look twenty-five. Surely you flirted with some girls while on the beach?"

Jacob could remember talking to exactly one woman who wasn't a waitress or one of his sisters on the trip: some wrinkly old lady old enough to be his mom who approached him and asked for directions while he was on the beach. Even when Jacob said that he was a tourist and didn't know, she kept pestering him until Rachel came up and yelled, "he's seventeen, you creep!" The werewolf body came with perks, but it had a few downsides, too.

"No." He turned to his friends, "Why do you guys care so much anyway?"

"It's just been a while since you've dated anyone, that's all." Embry shot Jacob an overly innocent smile.

"Well, the last girl I was into – "

"Ditched you for a disgusting leech and got turned into a vampire. We know, we know," Quil supplied for Jacob, "But she was never that into you anyway. What about before that? Alyssa Morgan?"

"Are you two tag-teaming me?" Jacob demanded, looking at his friends suspiciously.

"We're just saying, Jacob!" Embry protested, "Wouldn't hurt to get your feet back in the water again. Could have been nice to do it with some hot Hawaiian girl."

Jacob rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, that didn't happen. But what about you, Embry? I haven't seen you date anyone in…" Jacob paused for a second. He couldn't remember the last girl Embry dated. Embry went to homecoming with some girl all the way back freshman year, but that was the last date that Jacob could remember.

"Yeah, well, the only thing I got going for me is Rowena," Embry sighed and fiddled with the lid of his soda can, "She asked me out again when she saw me over the break. Not sure how many times I gotta say no to her until she gets the idea that it's never going to happen."

"Yeah, Rowena's a piece of work," Quil agreed, "She made it pretty clear that she thought that we should be 'study buddies' when I saw her last week. Even though she'd just asked out Embry a couple hours before!"

"Jacob!" Billy's booming voice echoed into the garage, "Jacob, can you give me a ride to the Elder's meeting?"

"Guess I gotta get going," Jacob said happily, before calling back to Billy, "I'm coming, Dad!"

"Whatever," Embry laughed.

"Go do your stupid Alpha things or whatever," Quil said, "But this isn't over! We want details!"

"Sure, sure," Jacob muttered, "Hey, did one of you borrow my screwdriver? I can't find it anywhere."

"Oh yeah, sorry, it was me," Embry said, "I was just trying to fix the garbage disposal at my house. Get back on my mom's good side. You know how it goes. I'll bring it to you, I promise."

"Jacob! We need to leave now!"

"I gotta go." Jacob gave a quick wave to his friends before jogging out to meet Billy, who was already sitting by the Rabbit, waiting to be helped in.

"You're just eager to see your friends after a week away," Jacob complained. A quick glance at the old clock in the Rabbit told Jacob that they did, in fact, have plenty of time to make it to the community center for the meeting.

"That was Quil and Embry out there, wasn't it?" Billy asked with a sly smile.

"Fair enough, old man."

The drive to the Community Center was quick and easy. Jacob could have made Billy roll himself there, but Jacob couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about everything that had happened last night. And this gave him an excuse to get away from his friends and their pesky questions about his love life, or lack thereof.

As Jacob drove, he took in the sites of the glorious reservation. The rain had let up and the sun was peeking through the clouds. It wasn't Hawaii, but it was home.

Old Quil and Sue were climbing out of Sue's car when Jacob pulled into the parking lot. He immediately went to get Billy's wheelchair from the backseat.

"Billy, I would have come to pick you up!" Sue said as Billy opened the door of the Rabbit. Jacob set the wheelchair down in front of Billy's door and helped his father into the wheelchair.

"Jacob didn't mind driving me," Billy said.

"Speak for yourself, old man," Jacob said under his breath, though he was mostly just kidding. The wolves were set to join the meeting only 30 minutes after the Elders started it and Jacob did feel bad about the prior night. And secretly, he hoped that Leah might come to the meeting a bit early. He'd been avoiding her for so long and – despite his better judgments – he missed her.

Jacob took a seat on one of the picnic tables in front of the community center. From here, he could see the beach, which was not yet crowded with tourists, though it was hardly deserted, either. He could hear the shrieking laughs of a group of kids and the pounding of the waves on the pebble beach. The ocean air filled his nostrils; even though it was the same Pacific Ocean he'd seen all week, it smelled different. Like home.

As luck would have it, though, it was not Leah who appeared first. Jared instead came bounding in from woods on the side of the community center, struggling to put a shirt on.

"Hey, Jake! I didn't miss it, did I?" Jared asked.

"Hasn't even begun yet."

"Oh, thank God. Kim and I were hiking and we lost track of time. I had to get her to the car but then I came running over here as fast as I could," Jared said with a huff. He took a seat across from Jacob at the picnic table, "How was Hawaii?"

"It was good," Jacob responded tiredly. He knew that there would be no end to the questions on how his trip was until everyone in La Push heard everything they wanted to know.

"That's great, man," Jared responded, "Hawaii. That's cool as fuck. Hook up with any hot girls out there?"

Why was Jacob's love life under such scrutiny lately?

"'Fraid not," Jacob answered coolly, making a conscious effort not to let his annoyance be known. He glanced over at the beach. No bikini-clad girls in La Push. It happened only in the summer months, and even then, only on the hottest days.

"Too bad," Jared said before he launched into a story about his week without any prompting from Jacob. Jared was always easy to talk to like that.

The roar of Sam's old Ford truck driving up to the community center interrupted their conversation. As Sam parked the car, he hopped out and exchanged brief greetings with Jared and Jacob. Unlike Jared, however, Sam asked Jacob no questions about his trip to Hawaii, and instead immediately told Jared that they needed to discuss the patrol schedule. Jared followed Sam to one of the other picnic tables and began their discussion.

Jacob pulled out his own patrol schedule from his pocket. It was nothing more than a scribbled piece of paper that he had worked on while in Hawaii. On the list for tonight, Jacob had written his and Leah's names, though he was tempted to change it. The patrol shifts were arbitrary; it was common for members of his pack to switch shifts at a moment's notice, and Leah and Jacob hadn't patrolled together in quite a while. Unlike Sam, Jacob had no problem with last-minute changes, so long as someone showed up to patrol.

Light footsteps made Jacob lookup.

"Jacob!" Leah greeted him breathily. She flashed Jacob a smile. Like Jared, she too came from the direction of the woods, and by the way she took a second to adjust her tank top, Jacob knew that she had run here as a wolf.

"Hey, Leah!" Jacob smiled back at her.

"How was it? Or the rest of it, I should say," she glanced around, noticing Sam and Jared talking to themselves about the patrol schedule. From what he gathered, Sam wanted to decrease the number of night patrols that Brady and Colin did, which of course meant that Jared, Sam, and Paul would have to do more. Every time Jacob had to hear these discussions, he became more grateful for his ragtag pack. At least none of them were middle schoolers.

"Good, great, I had a wonderful time," Jacob told her dismissively. Surely Leah wouldn't pry into his love life. He couldn't handle that, "How was the rest of your week?"

"Can't complain."

"You ready for this meeting?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, I just wanted to ask you something real quick. You don't mind if I patrol with Embry for a while, do you?"

"You want to patrol with Embry?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind. He's, uh, teaching me how to control my thoughts better. You ever notice how Embry never lets you know anything he doesn't want you to know?"

Jacob hadn't, in fact, noticed that about Embry before. He'd never really realized that Embry had any secrets before. But now that he was thinking about it… Jacob couldn't remember a time that Embry had been embarrassed about something revealed in the pack mind. Other than maybe his shame about his unknown parentage, but even that was something that Embry would discuss in person if asked. Unlike everyone else, Embry had managed to avoid that particular aspect of wolf life.

"You got something you want to hide from us, Clearwater?" Jacob teased.

"A girl's entitled to her secrets."

"Where were you coming from anyway?" Jacob asked.

"Port Angeles. I spent the night there." Leah looked him straight in the eyes as she said it, as if she was challenging him. But he knew what her words meant.

"Right."

"So can I patrol with Embry?"

"Yeah, that's no problem," Jacob said, looking down at his scribbled list of patrol ideas. He'd put himself with Leah again for the first time in months, realizing after they had talked in the bond while he was in Hawaii that he could, in fact, manage to share his thoughts with her. Instead, he'd be with Seth and Quil now. Two of his best friends, but not as exciting as patrolling with Leah, "I'll swap you now."

"Thanks." Another stunning smile. Leah opened the door to the community center and gestured for Jacob to go in. He did, and she followed. As they walked to the room where the weekly meeting was held, Jacob couldn't help but notice Leah's palatable happiness. It was as if a light had switched while Jacob was gone. It was the happiest Jacob had seen Leah in a long time. And Jacob didn't know what had caused the switch.

-&-

Signing up to do a night patrol the night before he went back to school and after still adjusting back to the Pacific Time zone was a giant mistake, Jacob concluded as he struggled not to fall asleep in chemistry the next day. True to his word, he had patrolled with Seth, not Leah. Other than Seth's nagging questions about Hawaii (even Seth asked if the girls in Hawaii were hot – innocent little Seth!), patrol had been boring as ever.

Mr. Johnson was droning on, wasting no time before jumping right into the lesson about something to do with thermodynamics. Chemistry, Jacob decided, was truly his least favorite subject.

"Alright everyone, pair up," Mr. Johnson instructed. In his tired stupor, it took Jacob a minute or two to realize what Mr. Johnson had said. And by the time he looked up, Quil and Embry were already sitting closer to each other.

"Sorry, bro," Embry whispered.

"Can we do a group of three?" Quil asked loudly.

"There's an even number of you today since Laurel is absent. So, no. Sorry boys."

Jacob looked around to try to find the other singleton. Normally, the three of them got away with always being the three-person group, which worked well for Jacob and Quil because Embry always did most of the work. Jacob's classmates had all paired up, and it took him a second to find the only other person who was sitting alone. Alyssa Morgan. Great. It figured, seeing as Laurel was one of Alyssa's best friends.

Alyssa put her hand up, "Hey, Jacob."

Jacob pushed in his chair and walked awkwardly towards Alyssa, "Do you know what we're doing?"

Alyssa bit her lip, "Uh, no. I was hoping you would."

Jacob glanced around the room and managed to push his way back towards Quil and Embry. Alyssa followed him, huffing around.

"Embry!" Jacob whispered, "What are we doing?"

As Embry whispered directions for the lab assignment back at Jacob, who desperately scribbled them down, Alyssa stood there with a shocked look on her face.

"How could you hear him?" she demanded.

"I have good hearing."

Alyssa glared at him, "Okay…"

"Do you want to know what we're supposed to be doing or not?" Jacob asked irritably.

"Yes, of course, I do," Alyssa backtracked quickly, glancing between him and Embry, "Thanks, Embry."

Embry shook his head, "You two should pay more attention in class."

Both Jacob and Alyssa scoffed and headed back to their workstation before Mr. Johnson or Embry could lecture them any more. Alyssa grabbed the instructions that Jacob had jotted down from Embry and immediately got to work, barking instructions at Jacob.

"So where is Laurel anyway?" Jacob asked as they waited for their experiment to heat up.

"She's sick. She has the flu. It's been going around, haven't you heard?"

"Uh, no," Jacob admitted. One of the perks of spending time almost exclusively with people who were unable to get sick.

"Oh. Well I was sick a few weeks ago and now Laurel is sick," Alyssa looked at him, "You really didn't notice? I feel like everyone is getting sick."

"No," Jacob reaffirmed. Alyssa kept staring at him, so intensely that it made him blush, "What?" he asked.

"Nothing…" Alyssa looked down quickly, seemingly embarrassed. She immediately picked back up the thermometer and got back to work. Jacob followed her lead, confused about what had just happened.

They spent the rest of the class period working, but in between heating chemicals, they managed to talk some, as well. For what felt like the hundredth time, Jacob found himself recanting his adventures in Hawaii, while Alyssa listened carefully (unlike most of the other times he'd been asked about his trip, Alyssa did not once ask about hot girls, a break which Jacob had to admit that he was grateful for). Jacob asked Alyssa about her break, and she launched into a long-winded story that ended with her spending the entirety of spring break on the res. This led to a discussion about the best ways to annoy tourists on the beach, something both Jacob and Alyssa had expertise in.

"So, uh, we didn't finish this lab write up at all," Alyssa said lamely after Mr. Johnson announced that class was ending.

"We can meet up later this week to finish it," Jacob said as he packed up his bag. It wasn't like he wasn't still trying to finish Leah's car and had patrols and other homework, "Thursday work?"

"Yeah, Thursday's great. We can meet at my house." Alyssa started putting her notebook into her book bag, "Do you still know where it is?"

"Uh, yeah." Jacob had lived in La Push his entire life. He knew where everyone lived, "I'll see you later."

Alyssa smiled at him. She moved her mouth like she had something else to say, but nothing came out except a quick, "See you later!"

Jacob grabbed his book bag and walked over to Quil and Embry, who were waiting for him right by the door to the classroom. They were both apologetic about Jacob being the odd one out, but Jacob didn't really care. He spent enough time with Quil and Embry as is. One chemistry assignment without them wouldn't hurt him, as long as Embry promised to help. They walked to their next classes and complained about the amount of homework they had.

"Honestly I probably won't even do it," Quil said.

"Dude, that's an awful idea," Embry shook his head, "You're barely passing anyways."

"Yeah but it's so much…" Quil protested, "And it's not like we're going to be here next year anyway."

"We don't know that for sure. Not till we get our test results back. But we can work on the assignment together," Embry promised.

"Does that mean you'll do most of the work?" Jacob asked.

"Ha-ha-ha, very funny."

"Jake!" Alyssa called, interrupting their conversation. Jacob spun around and saw Alyssa following him down the hallway.

"We'll see you later, yeah, Jake?" Embry said as he and Quil continued on.

"Yeah, see you later," Jacob mumbled.

"Jake!" Alyssa repeated as she caught up to him.

"What's up?"

"Do you want to go to prom?"

"Prom?" Jacob asked. He hadn't thought about prom since Billy had paid him to interrupt Bella's prom. Was that really almost two years ago?

"Yeah… like you, know the dance at the end of the year? Only attended by juniors and seniors?" Alyssa's attempt at teasing was thwarted by her nervous expression.

"Right."

"Do you want to go?" Alyssa asked again, and after he didn't respond, she added, "With me?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Quil and Embry both spin around, no doubt listening in with their supernatural hearing. Embry had a giant grin on his face and Quil was giving him the thumbs up.

"Alyssa's hot!" Quil mouthed. Embry nodded enthusiastically.

Next to his two friends, Jacob could see Rowena Ascarrunz glaring at Alyssa with her arms crossed, and Jacob remembered what Embry said about her asking him out. Alyssa was definitely a step up from Rowena.

"Jacob? If you don't want to go with me, you can just say so. And I know we went out before but that was a while ago, and it feels like we've both changed since then." Alyssa babbled, "and I'm just gonna be honest with you, there's not a ton of people on the reservation and Laurel already has a date and I don't want to third wheel but I also don't want to just not go so I was thinking maybe we could go together?"

Why not? Quil was right. Alyssa was hot. And last time they went she let him touch her breasts, who knew what she'd let him do on prom night? And if Leah was dating, then why shouldn't he?

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" Jacob said quickly before he could think too much about it.

"Really? You'll go with me?"

"Yeah."

"Sweet." Alyssa had a huge smile on her face, "I'll call you later, Jacob!"

"Yeah," Jacob said somewhat numbly, "I'll talk to you later."

Suddenly, he looked up and saw his friends looking back at him, each with a huge smile on their faces. Jacob narrowed his eyes at them and hurried to catch up to them.

"Did you know?" he hissed.

"We might have had a slight clue," Embry admitted.

"She asked about you every time she came into the store over break," Quil elaborated, "So I had a feeling."

"And you didn't tell me?" Jacob demanded.

"Some things are better left a surprise," Embry shrugged.

Quil laughed, "Don't be mad at us! You have a hot date to prom!"

"Even Leah's dating, dude," Embry said, "You gotta get out there some time."

"I hate you both,"

"You love us both!" Quil practically sang. Jacob thought that Quil might be happier about this development than Jacob himself was, "And you'll love us even more after prom night!"

The warning bell rang before Quil could say anything else.

"We gotta get to class," Embry said. The hallways had cleared out significantly; the three of them were some of the few remaining students, "Bye guys!"

With quick goodbyes, the three friends split up and went their separate ways through the nearly empty hallways and Jacob found himself wondering what else his friends might be keeping from him.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

At some point, Leah was going to have to insist that the werewolves – and the tribe in general – figure out something other than bonfires to celebrate people's birthday. She'd joined the supernatural world just over a year ago now and she'd probably been to three times more bonfires in that year than she ever had before. But for now, she'd have to learn to live with them, as there was another one planned for tonight, though she was already trying to scheme her way to get out of it. How could people be upset if she chose to study for finals and do homework instead of going to her ex-boyfriend's birthday celebration? Weren't the Elders always lecturing on and on about the importance of school and getting an education?

"What time are we supposed to be there again?" Seth asked. He stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork. There would be food at the bonfire, but the Clearwaters were also having a nice family dinner ahead of time. Leah was grateful. There was something so uncivilized about scarfing down burgers with all the other wolves. She much preferred scarfing down chicken teriyaki at the table with her family, where her only competition was Seth and she could at least pretend to be a normal twenty-year-old with manners.

"Seven," Sue said simply, "Do you want to drive over there?"

"Yes!" Seth exclaimed. Fifteen now, Seth had finally gotten his learner's permit and he was taking advantage of it, "Do you want a ride, too, Leah?"

"No. I have homework, so I'll be there late." It was a strategic move to save all of her homework till Friday night. Did it make Leah look like a loser? Yes. Did it save her from having to go to her ex-boyfriend's birthday bonfire? Also yes.

"As long as you come eventually," Sue shot Leah a knowing look as Sue served herself some more rice. Her voice was sympathetic, "It's not just Sam's birthday, you know. It's Brady's too."

"Because I'm so close to Brady. Best friends. We talk every day." Leah muttered under her breath.

Sue shot Leah another look, this time much more annoyed, but Sue ignored Leah's comments, "Pass the sauce, please, Seth."

"I wonder if Jake will bring Alyssa," Seth mused as he passed the sauce to Sue.

"Alyssa?" Leah asked, racking her brain for the only Alyssa she knew, "Alyssa Morgan?"

"Yeah, they're going to prom together. You didn't know that?"

"No…" Leah paused for a second. She'd patrolled exclusively with Embry recently and they'd spent most of their time working on keeping their thoughts hidden. Embry hadn't spilled any information on Jacob or Quil, other than the fact that they were still working on her car. And this news about Alyssa Morgan was, well, unexpected, to say the least, "I didn't know that. I just never thought he'd manage to get over Bella. He didn't imprint, did he?"

Someone would have told her if Jacob imprinted. They would absolutely not have kept that from her. Right?

"No, of course not," Seth stabbed another piece of chicken, and avoided making eye contact, "They're just dating."

An unexpected wave of relief washed over Leah. And a realization quickly followed, "Then why would Alyssa be there? She's not in the pack."

"Yeah but she's Quileute. She knows the story. And Jake's the Alpha, he could invite her if he wanted to." Seth shrugged before taking a large bite of chicken teriyaki.

"She might be Quileute but she doesn't know the truth behind the legends," Sue said, "And I'm sure that Jacob has a better head on his shoulders than to invite someone who doesn't know the truth and isn't an imprint."

Leah wasn't convinced that Jacob had enough sense not to invite someone who wasn't an imprint; after all, he'd invited Bella and she never even agreed to date him. But Leah didn't say that.

"Is Nessie coming, Seth?" Leah asked. It would influence her decision on whether or not to go. On the one hand, she was quite curious about seeing Jacob and finding out more information about his little girlfriend but on the other hand, it was also Sam's bonfire and, well, yeah. She didn't want to do anything that might celebrate Sam. But she also didn't want to seem like she was still stuck on him. But it was an open secret that she disdained Nessie, and maybe if Nessie went she could convince people (and by people, she really just meant Kim and Rachel – she cared little what the rest of the pack thought of her) that she didn't go because of that. For the first time, Leah wished that Danny were Quileute. Then she could drag him to one of these things.

Seth shook his head, "Bella and Edward took her to South America. They think they've found some other half vampires. They'll be gone for a few weeks."

This, too, was news to Leah. And judging by the surprised look on Sue's face, it was news to her too.

"When did they leave?" Sue placed her fork down on her plate and studied Seth.

"Tuesday," Seth answered with a mouthful of chicken.

It was now Saturday. Nessie had been gone for what? Four days? And Seth hadn't gone crazy?

"And you're okay with that? I thought you were supposed to go crazy if you went more than a day without seeing your imprint." If Seth had gone crazy, Leah had a right to know. Seeing as she was his sister and his craziness was likely to affect her.

Seth shrugged, "They're coming back. It's not like Nessie will forget me in three weeks. She's very smart, you know. She can remember all the way back to the day of her birth. And it's important that she finds people like her."

And to think Leah had dealt with the angst of all the imprinted wolves for so long when they couldn't see their imprints for a few hours or days, never mind a few weeks! And her own stupid brother could let his imprint leave the continent without losing his mind.

"Well, that's very mature, Seth," Sue remarked. She looked proudly at her son. Leah tried not to scoff. Being able to go a few weeks without seeing someone was the bare minimum, as far as Leah was concerned, "And it will give you time to focus on school for a little bit."

Seth groaned, "My grades are fine, Mom!"

"There's nothing wrong with Bs and Cs, but they could always be As and Bs. And Ds, now those are another story," Sue chirped. She stacked the empty serving bowl on top of her empty plate, "Now if we don't want to be late, we need to clean up."

With all three of the Clearwaters' help, clean up was surprisingly fast. Within fifteen minutes, Sue had gone upstairs to get ready, and Seth was playing keys to Sue's car, tossing them back and forth between his hands. Leah had opened her textbook and was sitting at the kitchen table, pretending to study.

"Do you actually have homework?" Seth asked.

Leah cocked her eyebrow at her brother, "Do you actually think that Cs are fine?"

"Shut up, Leah!" Seth groaned, "Not you, too!"

"All I'm saying is that it doesn't matter that the Cullens can pay for fancy schools if you can't get into them."

"Ugh! Tell mom I'm waiting outside for her!" Seth stomped out like the dramatic fifteen-year-old that he was, as Leah chuckled at his antics and got back to making notes in her textbook.

Leah had read all of two lines of her textbook when Sue came down the stairs, "Where's your brother?" she asked.

"He's outside. I annoyed him with my questions."

Sue shook her head and grabbed her purse, "I'll see you there, Leah." The look Sue gave her made it clear that Sue did, in fact, expect to see Leah there. Leah rolled her eyes and said nothing, looking back down at her book.

Leah spent all of twenty minutes scribbling notes down and drawing in the margins of her textbook, retaining next to nothing of the words she was reading. She considered calling Danny, but truthfully, she didn't want to speak with him. Amy was working and Kim would almost certainly be at the bonfire. Rachel may or may not be at the bonfire, but Leah couldn't exactly gossip with Rachel about Jacob's love life. Not that Rachel was likely to know anything anyway. Apparently, they'd all gotten into some type of big fight after Hawaii.

Once the margins of her notebook were completely filled with stupid doodles, and Leah's knowledge of marine biology hadn't increased at all, Leah gave up. The curiosity was nagging at her, making it impossible to focus on anything that wasn't the thought of Jacob with Alyssa Morgan at Sam's birthday bonfire. Leah wasn't sure why the idea of Alyssa Morgan at the bonfire bothered her so much, but it did. And she simply had to check it out.

As a wolf, it took Leah almost no time at all to make it to the bonfire site. But once she phased back to human and put her clothes back on, she found herself trying to make sure that she looked put together and not as if she had just stumbled out of the forest and thrown her clothes on. It was stupid, she thought to herself, who was she trying to impress? All of these people had seen her at much worse and they had already all judged her for it. But nonetheless, she tried to fix her hair and make sure her tank top wasn't too low cut before she ventured out to the bonfire.

But when Leah made her way at the cliffs, the only unexpected person in attendance was Charlie. He was standing as awkwardly as ever with the Elders, away from the food (which had already been picked over) but close enough to the fire to stay warm. In the background, there was yet another raucous game of Frisbee going between several members of the packs, including Seth and Embry. Sam and Paul had Emily and Rachel in their laps, respectively. They were deep in conversation about something and it looked serious. And Jacob was… wrestling. Either that or he was fighting with Jared, but based on Kim's unimpressed facial expression and the fact that nobody was bothering to try to break it up, Leah guessed that it was just a stupid wrestling match. Boys.

"Leah!" Kim's face lit up the second she made eye contact with Leah. Kim sounded relieved, and Kim hurried over to Leah, "I didn't think you would come. But thank God you're here."

"Hey, Kim." Leah glanced around the cliffs again, just to double-check. Alyssa Morgan was definitely not there, "That bad?"

Kim nodded grimly, "That bad. They're - " Kim pointed her head at Paul, Rachel, Sam, and Emily, "are talking about stupid grown-up stuff. Jobs and insurance and stuff. Stuff that I should care about but I just don't. And Jared and Jacob have been wrestling for the past ten minutes. Why? I don't know. It's stupid! I was watching Claire but then she started fussing and Quil came to play with her. So I had nobody to hang out with."

Leah looked around and saw everything that Kim had just described to her. Sure enough, Quil was playing hide-n-go seek with Claire, and when Leah strained to hear, she could hear Rachel and Emily debating the merits of FSAs and HSAs. And Jared and Jacob were still rolling around on the ground, just like Kim had said.

"These things kinda suck, don't they?"

Kim nodded, "I didn't think you would come. Since it was Sam's bonfire and all."

Leah glanced around again. Everyone was sufficiently busy, too caught up in their own conversations to care about what Leah and Kim were talking about. And they were far enough away from everyone that her fellow wolves would only hear if they were trying to.

"I almost didn't come," Leah admitted, "But I heard a rumor…"

"You heard a rumor? A rumor about what?"

"I heard that Jacob was going to bring Alyssa Morgan. And I wanted to check it out."

Kim cocked her head, "I didn't hear that. And I didn't think anyone who wasn't part of the pack was allowed to come."

"Well, we both know that Jacob doesn't like to follow the rules." Leah glanced over at Charlie. He was nursing a beer and looking nervously between Sue and Billy, as if Charlie still wasn't sure if that he should be here or not.

"Good point. But I don't think Jacob and Alyssa are that serious – they dated before, you know, and it didn't really go anywhere."

"They did?"

"Yeah," Kim looked at Leah funnily, "Before the whole Bella Swan disaster. It was just one of those awkward teenage things, I guess."

Before the Bella Swan thing. In other words, before Leah cared or knew anything about Jacob Black's life.

"Interesting." It was hard to picture Jacob into anyone who wasn't Bella, but it did make sense. Bella hadn't been in Forks for years before she moved here, so Jacob wasn't always pining after her. And even after Bella first moved, she didn't exactly spend a lot of time in La Push. So it followed that Jacob would have a history with other girls, even if Leah had always seen him as some annoying kid. Leah was learning so much about Jake tonight.

"I would have thought you knew all this." Kim said mildly, "Everyone in La Push knows everything about everyone."

"Not everything," Leah disagreed, watching as Embry chucked the Frisbee through the woods and Colin ran after it, "But most things. But I stopped listening to the gossip so much after, well, you know."

The gossip in La Push was bad enough when Sam disappeared. It was even worse when Sam broke up with her. And it was absolutely unbearable when Sam started dating Emily. So Leah tried to avoid it when she could. But apparently, it meant that she was missing out on things.

"That's fair," Kim allowed, "But you and Jacob never talk about these things?"

Leah couldn't help but laugh, "Oh my God, no!"

"But don't you, like, see it in his mind? Like I thought it was an open book type of situation?"

"No. You only see what they're thinking about at that moment. And there are ways to hide it, if you focus on other things enough."

Kim considered this for a second, "Does Jared know this?"

"Probably not."

"You should tell him! I think that all the boys in the Pack know a little too much if you know what I mean."

Unfortunately, Leah did know what Kim meant. And not for the first time, she genuinely pitied all the girls who had intimate details of their lives broadcast to a group of teenage boys. Leah knew it too, but at least she knew exactly what was being broadcast, and could fight with the boys if they did anything untoward with the information. Kim had no idea what was being broadcast and no recourse, even if she did.

"I'll talk to him," Leah promised.

"Thanks. I would really appreciate it," Kim said, "But Jacob has really managed to keep all thoughts of Alyssa out of his head while he's patrolling?"

"I haven't been patrolling with him lately," Leah admitted, "I've only been patrolling with Embry."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it just worked out like that."

"Don't you have a say in the patrol schedules since your Beta and all?" Kim pressed. Leah got the feeling that Kim knew that there was more to the story than Leah was letting on.

"I do," Leah admitted, "But Embry's easy to patrol with. And he's exceptionally good at concealing his thoughts."

"Huh." There was something in Kim's voice that lead Leah to believe that Kim didn't quite believe her, "You never fail to surprise me, Leah. That's for sure."

Leah didn't ask her to elaborate.

-&-

"Are you sure you don't want to spend the night?" As he spoke, Danny pushed one of Leah's short strands of hair behind her ear. They were lying in his bed, her head resting on his chest. He kissed her bare shoulder lightly.

"I really can't." It was a lie. She could. Maybe she even should. But for whatever reason, all she could think about was the warmth of her own bed. Danny may have a queen-size bed, and hers was only a twin, but somehow it was much comfier. And she was hungry. Danny had cooked for her – fajitas, no less – but she was still too timid around him to eat anything more than what a normal twenty-year-old would eat. She had half a pizza left at her house, provided Seth hadn't gotten to it already.

"Are you sure?" Danny teased. He pressed another kiss to her bare shoulder.

"Danny…" Leah sighed. She sat up and looked at him. Naked and with his blond hair wild, he wasn't hard to look at. Against her better judgment, she leaned over and gave him a kiss that went on for a second longer than she intended.

"You wanna shower first, at least?" He spoke the words against her jaw before kissing her again. Danny was a lot of things, but he wasn't a bad kisser.

Leah reached up and ran her hands through her short hair. It was greasy, unruly, and just generally disgusting. She hadn't washed it in several days, but the thought of using Danny's stupid two-in-one conditioner shampoo just made her decision easier: she absolutely had to go home. She might share her shower with her brother, but at least she had nice shampoo and conditioner there.

"I really need to get going."

"If you insist," Danny pouted, "But I'll miss you."

"I'll call you tomorrow," Leah promised. She got out of bed and started looking for her clothes, which were strewn across the room. Her tank top was on top of the dresser, her jeans on the floor. Her bra was the easiest to find, sitting on the nightstand. Panties? She had no idea. Going commando wouldn't be that big of a deal, though. It was just a quick run back to La Push and it wasn't like she needed clothes to phase anyway.

As Leah dressed, Danny finally got out of bed, as well. He reached for a pair of boxers from his dresser but didn't bother with a shirt.

"Want me to walk you to your car?"

Leah froze. They'd been dating for almost two months now and never once had Danny asked to walk her to her car. Which was convenient because her damn car was still sitting in Jacob's garage.

"No," she said quickly, "I'm fine. Thank you, though."

She glanced at him. He had a confused expression on his face. Leah smiled sweetly at Danny as if that would be enough to convince him not to question her. He stood still as Leah crossed the small studio, grabbing her bag as she did.

"I'll see you later," Leah promised him. With a quick parting kiss, she hurried out of the apartment before Danny could try to follow her. As she walked towards the parking lot, she kept glancing back up at the apartment window, but Danny never appeared. With a relieved sigh, she abandoned her path to the parking lot for the path to the forest. Within seconds, Leah was a wolf.

It was luck that there was no one else was phased when Leah joined the pack mind. So far, she had been fortunate, and she'd had these runs of shame alone. One day, she knew, that would end, but it didn't seem to be today. She had no doubt that the three morons and her brother could guess what she was doing with Danny, but Leah had no reason to give them confirmation. And while she was working on keeping her mind focused on the present whenever she was with Embry, she always worried that she would slip up.

Out of fear, Leah ran quickly to ensure that no one else phased while she was running home. Her only slow down was a quick splash in the river to hopefully dilute the smell of Danny that she was sure was permeating from her body. Stupid enhanced sense of smell. Stupid werewolf brother.

Leah made it home in near-record time, and although she could hear Seth in his room, she didn't greet him before grabbing clothes to change into and jumping in the shower. She was in the middle of washing her hair with her glorious, feminine shampoo that was completely separate from her glorious, feminine conditioner when she heard whoops and yells from inside her own house. Even over the sound of the water, she could make out the voices clear as day: the three morons.

"Leah! Seth! Come down here!"

It wasn't an emergency. That much was clear. Jacob wouldn't be screaming in her house if it were something to do with the supernatural. He'd be howling. And Leah may let teenage boys run parts of her life, but she wasn't going to let them interrupt her showers. So she stayed in the shower, humming cheerfully to herself.

The hollering did not stop. Instead, it got louder, but also more muddled. Leah couldn't make out a word that was being said, but it was clear that Seth had joined in with them. When Leah shut off the water, the sounds of laughter and cheerful yells filled the air. She threw on her clothes quickly, the sounds making her more curious by the second.

"What are you morons screaming about?" Leah peaked her head down the staircase. At the bottom, Jacob poked his head around, an exuberant expression gracing his face. He looked younger at that moment than he had in months.

"We passed the test!" Jacob's smile rivaled that of a child who had just been given free access to a toy store.

"All three of you?"

"All three of us!"

"Leah, come down here!" Quil yelled, appearing next to Jacob, "We're celebrating!"

"In a second," she promised. Leah hurried to her room and ran her hairbrush through her short hair. She didn't bother to put on makeup or do anything else with her appearance; the boys had seen her at worst, which was far, far worse than this. She was clothed and clean, and she was pretty sure she no longer smelled like Danny, so she was good.

She bounded down the stairs and into the living room and the kitchen, where she found a celebratory atmosphere that rivaled New Year's Eve.

"Can you believe it, Leah?" Embry asked as soon as she walked into the room. His grin was nearly as big as Jacob's. "We passed! All of us!"

"Even me!" Quil added gleefully.

"I always knew you could do it," Jacob announced.

Quil scoffed, "No, you didn't."

"No, I didn't," Jacob admitted, "But I couldn't be happier that you did!"

Seth seemed just as excited as his friends were; he was doing a type of jig in celebration with Embry.

"No more high school!" Embry cheered.

"Well, you still have to finish this semester," Leah pointed out. Someone had to be the voice of reason. No reason it couldn't be her.

Embry glared at her before repeating, "No more high school! No more high school!"

"Wow, Leah, can you believe you're going to have to deal with us in the same school as you next year?" Jacob asked, "We might even be in your classes!"

"Somehow, I doubt that," Leah said, although she had no reason to say it. She didn't know what classes the dual-enrollment program allowed. There was an especially scrawny looking kid in her marine biology class. Maybe he was a dual-enrollment high schooler.

Quil laughed, "She's already regretting telling us about the program. She's going to transfer before we can even get enrolled."

"You think Kim will let us in on the carpool?" Jacob asked teasingly.

"No."

"So what are we going to do to celebrate?" Seth asked. Quil, Embry, and Jacob just stared at him, "It's Friday night. The Elders are all at some meeting in Neah Bay. You guys just found out you don't have to go to high school anymore. Shouldn't we celebrate?"

"And this is why I let you into my pack," Jacob announced with a wide smile, "You, Seth, are full of good ideas. Let's go get wasted."

"You are not getting my fifteen-year-old brother wasted!" Leah protested.

"Leah!" Seth groaned. He looked at the other three morons desperately. They chuckled.

Quil laughed, "Have either of you tried to get drunk since becoming werewolves? It doesn't work. You can't do it."

Leah did know that, or at least she suspected it. When she and Sam used to steal wine from his mom, she'd get tipsy after they finished only half the bottle. But just a few nights ago, Danny had challenged her to a drinking contest and she had outdrank him easily and felt nothing.

"I'm never going to be able to get drunk? What a ripoff!" Seth complained.

"You're not missing out on much kid," Leah promised.

"You're really not," Quil agreed, while Embry and Jacob nodded in agreement.

"So we can't drink, but we gotta do something to celebrate. This is big. All three of us managed to scam our way out of high school." Embry leaned against the kitchen counter as they considered their options.

"We could go cliff diving," Jake suggested.

"Boring. We do that all the time. We need something more exciting." Quil stroked his chin, acting as if he was capable of deep thought.

"We could run to California." Embry crossed his arms as he said it.

"No," Jacob said a little too quickly. Leah studied Jake's face, trying to figure out why he shot it down so quickly. He made eye contact with her.

"Don't look at me. This is not my celebration," Leah said in response, "I have no idea how you guys should celebrate."

No one responded for a moment as everyone seemed to think about what they wanted to do. Leah had no idea how they should celebrate, but she did have to admit that this was cause for celebration. Secretly, she was proud of the three morons. She knew Embry would pass and thought Jacob would if studied enough, but she had her doubts about Quil. So to hear that they all had made it warmed her stone-cold heart. And their happiness was so contagious that she couldn't think of trying to sink their celebration, not really.

"We could rent some movies and get a fuckton of junk food. Like all the junk food in the store," Seth proposed.

All five of them looked at each other. Embry shrugged and Jake nodded.

"It's not a bad idea," Embry allowed after thinking about it for a second.

"Better than any other ideas," Jake agreed.

"Let's do it!" Quil exclaimed.

"Really?" The excitement in Seth's eyes reminded Leah of how he used to idolize Jacob and his friends. He had always been so pleased to be included in the big kid's stuff.

"Yeah, why not? Sounds like a fun enough idea."

"Especially if we really go get all the junk food we want…"

"Let's do it!" Embry jumped up, leading to all three of the others are doing the same.

"You coming, Leah?" Jake asked before Leah could get up.

"I guess so." It wasn't like she had anything else to do. She'd wanted to come home to shower and she'd done that. She hadn't planned anything else other than that. And she did want to celebrate their accomplishments. It was a big deal. Even she could admit that.

The five of them crammed themselves into Jacob's tiny Rabbit. Embry tried to protest and say that at least some of them should run and Leah pointed out that she didn't even really need to go to the store, she could just stay here, but Quil insisted that this was a night of "pack celebration" and that "everyone needed to go and get the full experience, which included driving in the tiny car." And since Quil insisted that they all take the car, and Jacob insisted on driving since it was his car, Leah insisted that she get the passenger seat since she was Beta.

"Where are you going?!" Seth demanded as Jacob turned down the road to the small store in La Push.

"The store?"

"They don't sell sour gummy worms at the store in La Push! We have to go to Forks."

"What?" Leah hadn't realized she'd be going all the way to Forks when she agreed to go with them.

"Jacob, Leah, it's a night of celebration. We need all the best junk food we can get. And they have a much better selection in Forks," Seth said earnestly.

"And if we go to Forks we can get beer from that one 7/11," Embry added.

"I thought we already established that we can't get drunk." Leah looked back at the boys in the backseat. They were far too large to be sitting together, but they somehow made it work.

"We did, but we can still get cheap beer and pretend," Quil gave her a pointed look.

"And Forks has sour gummy worms," Seth repeated.

"Forks is so far away though," Jacob complained.

"He's never going to be able to get drunk, you might as well let him get the gummy worms he wants," Embry said helpfully from the backseat. Seth nodded happily in agreement beside him.

"Besides, the store in Forks sells brownie mixes," Quil pointed out. Leah glanced back at them and glared at all three of them.

"What the hell do you need a brownie mix for?" Jacob demanded.

"For brownies! If we're celebrating with junk food and cheap beer then we might as well get a brownie mix and make brownies!" Quil sounded completely indignant at Jacob's frustration.

Jacob turned the car sharply into a u-turn, "Fine. We'll go to Forks."

It was a quick drive to Forks with Jacob behind the wheel. He pushed the speed limit and the boys' excited chatter provided the soundtrack for the drive, and in no time, Jacob was parking in the shopping center that housed Forks' only supermarket and Blockbuster.

After a quick stop in Blockbuster, where they all picked out at least two movies (Leah knew her picks of _50 First Dates_ and _Something's Gotta Give_ were highly unlikely to be picked, but she chose them anyway, figuring that Sue or Kim might want to watch them with her later that week.), the three of them made their way to the grocery store that was the main store in the shopping center.

They fanned out throughout the store, and Leah found herself on the chip aisle with Jacob, who had argued that they couldn't just get sweet foods; they'd want something salty to balance the sugar, and chips still counted as junk food.

"Where did Embry go?" Leah asked as Seth and Quil broke off for the baking aisle, after requesting a bag of potato chips. It took her a second to realize someone was missing.

"To the 7/11 down the road to pick up some beers. Do you like salt and vinegar or barbeque better?" Jacob held up family-size bags of both.

"What the hell does Embry need beers for? We've already established we can't get drunk. And salt and vinegar."

Jacob tossed the family-sized bag into the basket, "We're celebrating, Leah. We can pretend. Besides, Seth deserves a chance to least try some beer and see that he's really not missing out on much."

"He's fifteen!"

"Yeah, he's fifteen, Leah, you gotta let him live some time," Jacob took the bag of pretzels from her hands and placed them into the basket, "Besides, I know for a fact you were drinking at fifteen."

"He's my baby brother," she grumbled. But Jacob was right. Leah had raided her parent's liquor cabinet at a slumber party shortly after her fifteenth birthday and ended up grounded for a month for it. It might have been the most upset she'd ever seen Harry (though he did tell her later that she'd get into less trouble next time if she saved for the good stuff for Sue and just took the cheap stuff).

"He can still be your baby brother – he'll just be your baby brother who drinks sometimes. Now c'mon, let's go find the others."

They located Quil and Seth in the candy aisle. Both of them had other treats in their hands, as well, a brownie mix for Quil and three bags of gummy worms for Seth. Jacob took both of their selections and placed them in his now overflowing basket.

"Are you getting anything?" Jacob asked Leah.

Leah scanned the candy displays. If they'd come all the way down to Forks, then she might as well get the good stuff that wasn't sold on the reservation. She reached for a bag of Lindt dark chocolates, "Just these."

"Fancy," Jake commented as he awkwardly tossed a pack of Skittles into the top of the basket. Embry rejoined them and picked out his own candy and grabbed some salsa to go along with everything else they bought.

The five of them were surely a sight to see. With the arms full of food – junk food, mostly – and paying with the spare cash they had and the coins they had found in the Rabbit, the people of Forks were treated what must have been a ridiculous sight. They all crammed their way back into the Rabbit, Leah once again insisting on shotgun, overriding the protests of the other three pack members.

Somehow, they managed to avoid digging into their feast in the car before they reached the Clearwater house, but as soon as they'd gotten everything inside, the game was over. Bags of chips and candy spilled into the counters of the kitchen as they opened all the food they'd gotten and began snacking. Quil stole the eggs and oil needed to make his boxed brownies. Embry and Seth fought over who would get to lick the bowl until Jacob swooped in and grabbed from under both of their noses.

Joyous laughter filled the Clearwater's house as the brownies baked. Goldfish crackers were tossed back and forth and the boys made quite a show of who could stuff the most Oreos in their mouth. Leah didn't even have it in herself to act annoyed, even if she knew they were being childish. The celebratory nature was contagious, and she found herself laughing at their antics, even if she didn't join in on them.

"Movie time!" Seth yelled as soon as Quil pulled his brownies out of the oven. The boys had selected some horror movie, which Leah had begrudgingly agreed to. It would just be too much to get them to agree to a romcom and - even if they did agree – she would have to deal with their stupid comments about it the whole time. Better to save the romcoms for girls' nights, Leah figured.

"These aren't half-bad, Quil," Leah said after taking her first bite of the still-warm brownies.

Quil rolled his eyes, "Leah, they're from a box. Anyone can make them."

"Still good though." Leah grabbed another one and put it on her plate that was overflowing with food. Enough so that she might even feel full, werewolf metabolism and all. She leaned back into the sofa, settling into her spot in the corner. Jacob sat next to her, with Embry on his other side, while Seth and Quil took the loveseat. On the coffee table, their wide spread of food covered the entire table.

Seth started the movie, and Leah leaned back in her seat, ready for a night of horror movies and as much food as she could possibly want. The movies were good, the food was good and even the company was good. She felt bad for thinking it, but there was no doubt in Leah's mind: this definitely beat a night at Danny's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thank you so much for all the kind comments and all the kudos! I really appreciate them and they really do make a difference to me! I hope everyone is doing well with the pandemic and the holidays - I know a lot of people are really struggling this year so if you need a listening ear, please feel free to reach out. We have about six chapters left and I'm really excited for what to come and I hope you are too. Thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter Fifteen

"So after this, it's gonna be done?" In his hands, Embry held Jacob's best wrench. Earlier that week, after making calls all up and down the coast, Jacob had finally located the last few parts for Leah's car. Yesterday, Jacob and Quil had driven all the way to halfway to Olympia to pick up the parts. And on this Sunday, Jacob was determined to finish Leah's car once and for all.

"Should be."

"Good. Leah's been nagging me about it for a while."

"She has?" Jacob hadn't seen Leah much lately, but when they had met with the Elders last weekend, she had asked him about it. Fixing up the car had taken longer than Jacob thought it would and he did feel bad about it. But, surprisingly, Leah had yet to nag him about it. She had seemed understanding when Jacob told her it would be a little bit longer. But Embry was patrolling with her and he was in her head. So he would know. And if Leah was nagging Embry, it was only a matter of time before she would be nagging Jacob.

"Well, she's mentioned it a few times. She's been carpooling with Kim almost all semester and Kim has been driving the whole time. I think she feels bad about it."

Jacob tightened a bolt on the engine but didn't look at Embry before handing him back the wrench.

After a minute of no response from Jacob, Embry continued, "But Leah knows you've been working about it. Don't worry about it."

Jacob slid out from under the car and looked at Embry, "You two have sure been spending a lot of time together lately."

"Just patrol," Embry answered coolly, "Are you excited for prom?"

Jacob didn't challenge Embry's open attempt to change the subject, "I guess so. Yeah."

"You and Alyssa sure have been spending a lot of time together," Embry mocked Jacob's accusing tone, but Embry smiled as he said it.

"Yeah." Ever since Jacob and Alyssa had finished their lab report in chemistry, they'd ended up hanging out every couple of days, always under the guise of studying, but half the time, it ended up being a make-out session or just general teenage tomfoolery. It felt good to have something in his life that wasn't pack related at all. And it gave him something to do when Seth and Quil were at their imprints and Embry was doing God knows what, "She's cool, I guess."

"You guess? Paul said he and Rachel walked in on you too making out last week."

That had happened, much to Jacob's chagrin and Paul's delight. Paul hadn't let it go all week. Every time he was over, he mentioned it. Never mind that Jacob had caught him and Rachel in much more precarious situations. That didn't matter to Paul. All that mattered is that he caught Jacob with his hands up Alyssa Morgan's shirt and Paul made it his personal mission to know that every wolf and imprint knew.

"She's pretty cool," Jacob admitted. Alyssa let him touch her tits pretty regularly. She also wasn't opposed to sitting with him while he worked Leah's car. Those weren't the only things that made Alyssa cool, but they certainly helped.

"Who all is in your prom group again?" Embry asked.

"Uh, me and Alyssa, her friend Laurel and some guy from Forks that she's going with and I think someone else? Not sure though. And Alyssa wants Quil to go with her friend Cora, but just as friends so that there's an even number. So maybe Quil if we can convince him to ditch babysitting duty. Why? Did you want to go?" Jacob wasn't exactly looking forward to prom itself, but it would be made better if Quil and Embry went with him. It was the after prom that Jacob was looking forward to.

"Nah, I have patrol that night."

"I'm sure we could get someone to cover for you. Or maybe we could convince Sam to trade us nights. I bet we could convince him to trade us for the next Saturday."

"We don't need to bring Sam into it," Embry said hurriedly.

Undeterred, Jacob tried again, "I'm sure Seth would trade with you. He'll do anything if you just ask him nicely. Or even if you don't ask him nicely and just tell him, he'll do it."

"No. I really have no desire to go to prom." Embry said with a tone of finality, "Besides, Leah would freak if she had to patrol with Seth, I think."

"Really?" It wasn't like Jacob didn't know that Embry and Leah had patrolled together exclusively for… well, a while now. Longer than a month. Jacob hadn't really thought much of it. He and Leah had patrolled together exclusively for a while in the beginning. But the way that Embry said it… it gave Jacob a strange feeling. Like maybe there was something more going on, "Why are you two patrolling together so much anyway?"

"We're working on keeping our thoughts hidden," Embry said simply, as if that didn't open up even more questions.

"Why?" Jacob demanded, "What type of secrets do you guys have?"

"Me? I have none." The look on Embry's face was indecipherable, "But Leah? She has plenty. Mainly what she gets up to with her boyfriend, I think."

Oh, right. Leah's stupid faceless boyfriend. All Jacob knew about him was that he was a pale face and a college student. He pictured a surfer dude or maybe a frat-boy wannabe. As far as Jacob knew, Leah hadn't really dated anyone other than Sam and he was fairly confident that her new boyfriend was nothing like Sam.

"Hmph."

"It's nothing personal, you know," Embry assured Jacob.

"I know it's nothing personal." Jacob meant to sound nonchalant, but instead, it came out sounding defensive.

"I'm pretty sure she still considers you her favorite pack member. And she was really happy that you agreed to work on the car for her."

"I don't need Leah to like me or anything." Jacob slid back under the car, trying to hide the fact that he was pouting.

"Yeah, well, I just know you two got close when all that shit was going down with Bella's kid and all. And I know you value Leah's friendship. So I'm just letting you know that I'm pretty sure that Leah values your friendship, too."

Jacob didn't respond. He knew that Embry could see right through his lie. Jacob just hoped that Embry wasn't lying about Leah – Jacob would never admit to it, but he couldn't handle the idea of Leah and Embry together as anything more than friends. And Jacob couldn't help but wonder if there was more to their constant patrolling than Embry was letting on. But Embry was his friend and Jacob determinedly put the thought out of his head. Embry wouldn't lie to Jacob… would he?

After tightening the final bolt, Jacob tossed Embry the wrench once more.

"Toss me the keys," Jacob requested as he slid out from under the car. Embry immediately stood up and reached for the keys from the pin that they were hanging on the wall.

"It's done?" Embry asked.

"If it runs." Jacob caught the keys as Embry tossed them to him.

They both held their breaths as Jacob opened the car door and put the keys in the ignition. Carefully, Jacob twisted the keys and the engine roared to life.

"You did it!" Embry crowed.

Jacob took a step back from the car and listened. The engine purred smoothly, just like Jacob expected it to. His work was the best in La Push, he had no doubt about that. But still, every time he heard an engine come to life after working on a car, a sense of relief and pride swept through him. He couldn't stop the proud grin from gracing his face. He'd done it.

"I'll take it for a quick test drive. You wanna go tell Leah?" Jacob asked, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Hell yeah I do," Embry grinned and offered Jacob a high-five, "She's gonna love it, Jake."

Ten minutes later, after a quick drive around the reservation, Jacob drove Leah's car back to the garage. Standing outside of the door was Embry, leaning against the wall, and beside him, Leah. Her arms were crossed but she had a hopeful look on her face.

"Is it done?" Leah asked as soon as Jacob jumped out of the car. She and Embry had both followed him into the garage.

He tossed her the keys in response, "Runs and everything."

Leah walked slowly around the car, examining it carefully, "Wow, Jake. It looks good. I'm not going to lie. I'm impressed." She opened the car door, sitting inside for a second, "You couldn't think to vacuum it, though?"

"Not a full-service shop, sorry, Leah."

"Can't believe I paid for this," Leah muttered under her breath, though the giant grin on her face revealed her true feelings.

"You didn't pay for this!" Jacob exclaimed. But he did feel a little bad about the state of the car. He'd remembered to vacuum out Rachel's before he turned it over to her, but in his excitement to get Leah the keys, it slipped his mind, "If you want, I can wash it out and vacuum it tonight," Jacob offered.

"No way. It's my car. I'm not giving you back the keys for a long time." She was circling the car again, running her hands across the exterior. The smile on her face hadn't disappeared.

"What if it needs repairs?" Jacob asked.

"If it needs repairs this quickly, I'm bringing it to a real mechanic – not you."

"Hey!"

"You're the one who fixed it up, Jake, it won't need repairs," Embry chimed in. He had sat back down on the couch and was watching as Leah admired her car.

"I'm only kidding Jake, if it has any problems, I'll bring it straight here," Leah promised, before adding quietly, "But only cause you're the only person I know who'd fix my car for free."

"I do you a great service and this is how you treat me?"

"I said thank you!" Leah protested, "What else do you want?"

"I don't even think you said 'thank you,' Leah," Embry laughed.

"Well, thank you, Jake."

"You're welcome, Leah."

"That wasn't that hard, was it?" Embry asked. Leah tossed a nearby wrench at Embry, something she could only do because of Embry's supernatural ability to catch it without hurting himself. But Embry wasn't upset, he just started laughing even harder, and Jacob and Leah were soon joining in.

"Knock, knock!" A pleasant, sing-songy voice called from the door of the garage, interrupting the moment.

"Hey, Alyssa," Jacob wasn't sure why, but his stomach suddenly felt like it was filled with lead. Maybe it was Leah, whose cheerful, smiling face now looked quite sullen, standing by her barely finished car that made Jacob less than happy to see Alyssa.

"Hi, Jacob, hi, Embry!" Alyssa greeted the boys merrily, but her eyes narrowed a little bit once she noticed Leah. Alyssa recovered quickly, though and she was suddenly smiling at Leah as if she was happy to see her.

"Alyssa, you know Leah Clearwater, don't you?" The res was small. The chances of Alyssa not knowing Leah, or at least not knowing who she was, were slim to none. But Jacob had been raised with manners and so he prepared to make a formal introduction.

"I don't think we've ever officially met," Alyssa said after an awkward minute of the two staring at each other. Alyssa's fake smile was still plastered to her face, "I'm Alyssa."

"Leah." Leah's voice was not exactly friendly. She was back to scary Leah, the one who had terrorized the pack after she had first phased. This was not the fun Leah who had been joking around with Jacob and Embry just a few minutes ago.

"Jacob just finished fixing up Leah's car." Embry seemed to sense the sudden tension in the little garage. For the first time in years, Jacob missed the times when all girls and women were strictly forbidden from the garage. Or even the years when the female species wasn't exactly forbidden, there just wasn't a girl on the face of the planet who wanted to enter the garage. There was something about having his girlfriend and his Beta in the same place that didn't seem right.

"I didn't realize it was your car that Jacob was working on," Alyssa spoke carefully and Jacob watched as Alyssa studied both Leah and Leah's newly finished car.

"Yep! Jake went with me to buy it and then he spent these past few months fixing it up." It almost sounded like Leah was bragging.

"Oh." An unreadable expression graced Alyssa's face.

"Yeah, and now I'm done with it." Jacob gestured to his dirty coveralls to demonstrate this point, "Did you want me to show you anything else, Leah?"

"No. I trust you, Jake. Besides, you've already promised to fix anything else the car needs it." Leah smiled at Jacob, but he knew her well enough by now to know that it wasn't genuine.

"Yeah, I will," Jacob assured her.

"I'll see you later, Jake." Leah pecked him on the cheek, much to Jacob's surprise. The action seemed to surprise her, as well, because she blushed redder than Jacob had ever seen her before and quickly bounded into the car, "Thanks again!"

Leah drove off in a hurry and Jacob looked over at Embry and Alyssa, who were both standing at the corner of the garage. Embry refused to make eye contact with him; looking positively shocked. Alyssa, on the other hand, looked positively furious, all pretense of politeness all gone.

There was no mirror in the garage, but Jacob was positive that his face was as red as his dark skin would allow.

"So…" Jacob started, determined to break the awkward silence, "Anyone want a soda?"

-&-

"What exactly are you doing at the community center again?"

Alyssa's truck traveled along the bumpy road to the community center. Jacob preferred to drive himself, but he'd spent the morning with Alyssa after patrol last night and didn't have his car.

In the week or so since prom, Jacob had found himself spending more and more time in this truck – and more and more time with Alyssa. As a general rule, Jacob preferred to drive, but Alyssa's truck admittedly had more room for _activities_ than the stupid little Rabbit. It was the first major flaw he found in the car. And so they settled for Alyssa's truck, which was larger than his and therefore more acceptable even if Alyssa never let him drive it.

"I have a meeting with the Elders." Jacob didn't elaborate, even when Alyssa shot him a look from the driver's seat.

What exactly Alyssa thought about the rumors that Jacob and his friends were in a gang, Jacob didn't know. They'd never discussed it. Alyssa was smart – smart enough to know that Jacob wasn't in a gang – but that didn't mean she wasn't suspicious about Jacob's various activities.

"Just the Elders?"

"Well, Sam Uley, Jared Cameron, and Leah Clearwater will be there, too," Jacob admitted.

"Hmph." For a second, Jacob thought Alyssa's questions were over, "And why exactly is Leah involved?"

"Leah?"

"Yeah, your little… group. It was always all boys. It was you and Embry and Quil and Paul and Jared and those younger guys. And you'd all follow around Sam Uley."

"Yeah." Jacob didn't like where this was going.

"And Leah and Sam used to date. Until he cheated on her with her cousin. It was the talk of the res that entire summer."

"Sam and Emily didn't cheat," Jacob muttered, coming quickly to their defense. But he didn't know why. Why did he care if everyone thought that Sam and Emily had an affair? It wasn't quite the truth, but it was close to it.

"What?"

Jacob could feel Alyssa's careful eyes on him, "The situation between Sam and Emily and Leah is complicated, that's all."

"But Leah hates Sam." It wasn't a question.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so."

"So why is she going?"

"She has to be there," Jacob answered without thinking about it.

"Why does she have to be there?"

"She just does." Jacob's answer shut Alyssa up for a moment or two, "We both just have to be there."

"You too sure spend a lot of time together," Alyssa remarked, "And what exactly is your little group anyway?"

"It's just… we do stuff for the Elders."

"All of you?"

"All of us."

"Even Leah?" It was impossible to miss the doubtful note in Alyssa's voice.

"Yes, even Leah."

Prom had gone well, all things considered. Quil had gone after all and had a grand old time with Cora (maybe even a good enough time to think about dating someone while waiting for Claire to grow up or whatever it was he was doing – but Jacob didn't want to get ahead of himself and ask Quil anything like that). And the entire time, Alyssa never asked about the awkward exchange when Leah picked up her car and kissed Jacob on the cheek while Alyssa was in the garage. It had all seemed like smooth sailing. But now Alyssa was asking a lot of questions and Jacob wasn't sure what to think.

"Hmph. You're awfully close to her."

"Leah?"

"Yeah."

"She's my friend, I guess." She was really Jacob's Beta, but it wasn't like Jacob could tell Alyssa that. And really, friend was the appropriate word for Leah and Jacob's relationship, all things considered. Jacob didn't repair cars for free for just anybody. He did it for friends. So that made Jacob and Leah friends.

"I see." Alyssa's lips were in a tight line, a slight frown on her face.

The community center was just down the road now; Jacob had never been so happy to see the old building. The passenger seat was never Jacob's favorite place, but right now, it was especially unbearable. It had been ridiculous of him to think that Alyssa would never ask questions about the pack. Although it seemed like she cared less about the pack and more about Leah.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your meeting," Alyssa said as she pulled up to the front of the community center. Alyssa's tone told Jacob plainly that she did not care very much whether he enjoyed his meeting.

"Thanks," Jacob muttered in response. Without saying anything else, he slid out of Alyssa's car and walked the few steps to his customary waiting spot. It was luck that Leah wasn't there yet waiting for him; he hated to think how Alyssa would react if she saw Leah waiting at the community center's doors.

As Alyssa drove away, Jacob struggled to pick out the piece of paper from his shorts pocket. School was ending; summer was coming and with it, changes to everyone's schedule. That meant that the patrol schedule had to be completely re-written. Quil had told his grandpa he'd help out in the family store a few times a week, Leah still had her job at the Resort and Embry had signed up to take summer classes at Peninsula Community College, meaning that all these things had to be taken into account when making the patrol schedule. It was going to be a long, boring meeting, especially since Jacob was sure that Sam's pack had the same new restrictions now that school was out.

His own summer schedule was mostly undecided. Jacob definitely wasn't taking any classes like Embry but he didn't have a job lined up like Quil or Leah. Billy had agreed to loan him some money to attempt to flip a car and Old Quil offered him some shifts at the store, so he'd earn some money at least, but he also had a feeling he'd end up taking any patrol shifts that the others wouldn't be able to take.

"Hey." Leah's voice interrupted Jacob's careful studying of the piece of paper.

"Hey, Leah."

"Is that everyone's schedule for the summer?" Without asking, Leah took the paper from him, looking over it for herself, "Ha. Embry's taking an extra class? What a nerd. I'm surprised Quil isn't on babysitting duty all summer… though I guess Emily is probably taking care of that. Hey, you don't have anything for Seth on here."

"Is he doing something this summer? He didn't give me anything specific."

Leah shrugged, "Hanging out with the damn vamps too much probably. Should we go in?"

Jared and Sam, deep in their own discussion about their pack members' various plans had passed Jacob and Leah with merely a quick wave in acknowledgment.

"Guess so." They followed Sam and Jared through the hallways of the community center before arriving at their usual meeting room. The Elders were already sitting at the table. They motioned for everyone to join them, barely pausing their own discussion to welcome the new participants in their meeting.

As Jacob was expecting, the meeting dragged on. There were the usual updates that they had to go through and then Old Quil lectured them about the perils of summer as if the packs would have too much time on their hands between patrols, jobs, and their various other commitments. And Old Quil was not known for being succinct and Jacob was tired and he had been on patrol last night and Old Quil was still talking and…

Bang! The sound of something hitting metal echoed through the room, followed by a sharp pain on his shin. Jacob sat straight up, suddenly wide awake. Across from him, Leah's eyebrows were raised and she was looking straight at him. It took Jacob a second to realize that she'd kicked him.

The rest of the meeting's participants seemed to pay no attention to the commotion; the sound of Leah's foot hitting the metal bar beneath the table did not cause Old Quil to pause or hesitate or do anything except continue to drone on about tribal traditions and honor.

It was another two hours (or, at least, it felt like that, in reality, it was probably only fifteen minutes) before Billy moved the meeting into the only real part that had an impact on Jacob's life (if Old Quil thought his words were impactful – he was wrong. They were not.): the schedule.

As Jacob expected, it took a long time to sort through the patrol schedule. Even figuring out which days would be Sam's pack's days and which days Jacob's pack would take took a long time, as they realized that there was not a set schedule that would get them through the summer. Even with Sue constantly reminding everyone they would meet next (and the week after that) and they didn't have to have all the details ironed out, it didn't stop everyone from bringing up things that would be potential conflicts weeks in advance.

Finally, they worked out a schedule that would work for everyone. It was messy – there were a few double shifts involved – but it was something everyone agreed on, and the Elders let the wolves go.

"Sounds like everyone has a pretty good summer planned," Jared remarked as soon as the Elders dismissed them. The four of them walked together towards the door to the room, Leah and Jacob ahead of Sam and Jared, "Much better than last year when we all had to worry about a giant vampire war."

The heavy door closed behind Sam with a loud bang as Jacob led the other three into the hallway.

"I mean, I'm getting married, so yeah, I'm pretty pumped for the summer," Sam's deep voice echoed through the empty halls of the community center as he spoke.

Beside him, Jacob swore he could feel Leah tense up. He glanced over at her, but her face was unreadable.

None the wiser, Jared and Sam kept up their conversation, "Oh yeah, when is that again? Me and Kim were talking about going down to California for a weekend, maybe. But we'll make sure to do it away from your wedding."

As Jared and Sam discussed dates and Sam's honeymoon, Leah turned to Jacob, as if she was determined to block them out, "You have any travel plans this summer?"

"I'm still recovering from Hawaii." If Jacob never left Northwest Washington again, he wouldn't be disappointed.

"At least you went somewhere," Leah muttered. She pushed the door to the community center and hurried out without bothering to hold the door for anyone else.

Once outside, Sam bid them all a quick farewell before trotting off to the woods. Although Jacob and Jared called out a goodbye after him, Leah stayed silent.

"You all heading this way?" Jared asked as the three of them walked towards the road as if he didn't know exactly where the Black and Clearwater houses were. They weren't too far from Jared's family's house, but somehow, the three of them had never walked together. Probably because Kim lived on the opposite side of the reservation.

"I am," Leah confirmed, "Jake, are you headed home?"

"Yep." It was home or Alyssa's and home was clearly the better option.

"Jake, you got any special plans for the summer?" Jared asked as they started asking.

"Nothing in particular,"

"Hanging out with Alyssa?" There was a sly smile as Jared hit Jacob on the back.

Jake rolled his eyes. He had walked right into that. "I'll probably spend some time with her, I guess."

"You guess?" Jared laughed, "I heard you two were getting pretty close on prom night…"

"Who told you that?" Jacob demanded. He noticed Leah laughing beside him, a sort of unfamiliar laugh that was neither genuine nor kind.

"I have my sources," Jared said mysteriously. Before Jacob could challenge on who his sources might be (if Jacob had to guess, it would be Quil, the man was a great friend but he had never been able to keep his mouth shut), a car drove past them at a speed that wasn't frequently seen on the reservation, "Oh, wait, that's my sister! Natalie! Natalie! Can you give me a ride?" Jared chased after his sister without bothering to say goodbye to either Leah or Jacob.

The car slowed down and Jacob could hear Natalie and Jared arguing in a fashion that reminded him of his own relationship with Rachel, or even similar to what Leah and Seth when they bickered. All sibling relationships were truly the same.

With Jared gone, Jacob and Leah continued down the dirt road towards both of their houses. Leah was uncharacteristically quiet; she seemed to be mulling something over in her head. Jacob had half a mind to ask her what she was thinking about, but he didn't.

"You excited for the summer?"

"Not really."

"Cause Sam's getting married to Emily?" It was Jacob's best guess, but he did regret saying it.

"No, it has nothing to do with that. I'm just not excited for the summer because there's nothing exciting happening. But honestly Jacob, I don't really give two shits about Emily marrying Sam. Not anymore."

"You don't?"

"Not really," Leah said, "He's kinda an ass and if Emily wants to deal with him for the rest of her life… well, that's her business. This year made me realize that I kinda dodged a bullet."

"I think you did," Jacob told her truthfully. Sam was an ass. That much was for sure.

"I'm glad you think so," Leah smiled at him, though it didn't quite meet her eyes.

They walked in a comfortable silence. Leah, while tall, was still a good bit shorter than Jacob, but she kept up with his pace evenly.

"How's…" Jacob feigned struggling for the name. He knew the name of her stupid boyfriend almost as well as he knew his own name, "Danny?"

"Dunno," Leah shrugged, "I broke up with him."

"You broke up?" It was impossible not to let surprise fill his voice. Leah had been single? For how long?

"Yeah," Leah shrugged.

"I didn't know… I'm sorry."

"It wasn't a big deal. What, were you expecting me to freak out because of how I handled the whole Sam situation?"

"Uh…." Even before the whole wolf thing, it was common knowledge that Leah hadn't handled the whole break up with Sam well. Not that Jacob blamed her. It was a shitty situation all around.

"Jacob, listen. Danny was a rebound. A hot guy with no more than three brain cells, at the absolute maximum. Good in bed, actually funny and completely and totally different than Sam. So he was a great rebound – just not someone I wanted to spend my life with." Jacob couldn't believe how honest Leah was being with him. She looked at him as if she was daring him to challenge her. When Jacob didn't say anything – he genuinely didn't know how to respond – Leah spoke again, "Too much information?"

"No, not at all," Jacob recovered quickly with a sort of lie. He still hated to think of her in bed with some hot faceless guy.

"Maybe I'll find a hot tourist to hook up with. I need a summer romance," She said it casually, like this was the type of thing they talked about frequently.

"I'll let you know if I find any hot tourists guys."

"Well, I don't trust your taste – you lusted after Bella for how long now?"

"And you dated Sam for like three years," Jacob shot right back.

"Touché," Leah laughed, "touché."

"It'll be a good summer," Jacob said with confidence.

"You think so?"

"Well, it can't be worse than last summer."

"Don't tempt fate," Leah warned.

As she said it, there was the sound of a familiar truck that was driving by, from behind them, where the roads crossed. Alyssa.

"Jacob!" Alyssa didn't have to yell, with werewolf hearing, Jacob would have heard her if she had just said his name in a normal tone. But of course, Alyssa didn't know that.

Jacob sighed, causing Leah to let out a chuckle.

"Jacob!" Alyssa called again. She honked her horn, which really, wasn't necessary. Even if Jacob were human, he would have been able to hear her.

Jacob turned around, "Coming!"

Still, he stayed by Leah's side for a moment, looking down at his Beta. He found himself wishing he could have continued the walk back with Leah. It'd been so long since they'd done it and he'd forgotten how easy it was to spend time with Leah.

"You better go. She doesn't look happy," Leah said. She glanced up at him.

"She'll be fine," Jacob said with more confidence than he felt. He was dreading going to Alyssa; their previous conversation weighed heavy on him and he knew Alyssa would just have more questions.

"Sure, sure," Leah could always see right through him. Alyssa honked again, "You better go before it gets worse."

And Jacob knew that Leah was right, so he jogged off to Alyssa's side. A sinking feeling filled his stomach. He was suddenly worried that Leah was right. Maybe he had tempted fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hello! I hope everyone had a nice holiday season for all who celebrate. I know that this has taken a really long time so I apologize for that. I just want to say thank you to everyone who commented - I really do read your comments and they do give me motivation. I'm not abandoning this fic so hopefully the next chapter will come faster. Thank you again for reading and especially thank you to everyone who commented!


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Every summer, without fail, tourists flocked to La Push and this summer was no exception. It shouldn't have been a surprise; there were no big changes from the summer before. The beach was still beautiful, the weather still rainy but warmer than in the winter, and hiking trails still provided a great refuge from the city. There was, however, one big difference in Leah Clearwater's life between this summer and last: she was now working at the Resort and had to deal with all the tourists (okay, fine, there were some other changes, too, but at the moment, with the check-in line longer than Leah had ever seen before, her job was the only change that mattered).

"Your room is 115, right down the hallway and to the left. There are ice machines by the elevators. If you need anything, please feel free to call the front desk!" Leah handed the young couple a pair of keys. They barely even thanked her before the next group, three giggling college-age girls, came up to the front desk.

With a fake smile and a cheerful voice, Leah greeted the college girls. After they gave her their name and Leah waited for their reservation information to populate in the ancient computer, Leah saw Mr. Keyo, the general manager, pop out from his office, located behind the front desks.

"Mr. Keyo!" Amy called, "Can I speak with you in a second?"

Leah barely heard Mr. Keyo offer to speak with Amy once the line died down as she finished setting up the room reservation for the group of girls. She was too focused on getting their keys and helping the next guests.

After helping an elderly couple there to celebrate their 52 wedding anniversary and a young couple who were married but looked even younger than Leah, the line settled down. The lobby wasn't quite empty, but the line was shorter than it had been in a few hours.

Amy asked Leah if Leah could manage while Amy spoke with Mr. Keyo; Leah agreed readily and motioned for the next group of guests to come up to her station.

The next group was a young family – a couple with a toddler son – who were mostly here to hike, or at least that's what they told Leah. The husband asked several questions about the best hiking trails in the area, which Leah answered with ease. These were the trails she knew like the back of her hand.

"Are there still problems with big bears in the area?" The woman asked.

"Big bears?" Leah puzzled. She hadn't ever heard of issues with big bears in the area, nor had she ever seen any while she was out in the woods. And Leah spent a lot of time in the woods.

"When my sister was out here about a year ago, she said that she and her girlfriend saw a whole bunch of giant bears while they were hiking," the woman explained.

Leah gulped as she realized what the woman's sister had seen, "No." she answered swiftly and firmly, "I haven't heard of any problems with any bears. Anyways, here are your room keys. Room 238, up the stairs or elevator and down the hall. If you have any questions or need anything, please feel free to contact the front desk!"

Leah shoved the keys at the young family before they could ask any more questions. She smiled brightly at them and wished them a pleasant stay, but was relieved when they grabbed their bags and headed to the elevator.

"Leah, can I talk to you for a second?" Mr. Keyo asked. There was no one else behind the family in line, although Leah could see a wary group of travelers making their way to the main door. For the first time all shift, the front desk seemed calm, "Amy can take care of the desk for a moment."

Leah nodded wordlessly and followed Mr. Keyo back to the small office. He sat down dramatically and rested his hands on the desk.

"Amy just put in her two weeks notice," he sighed, "And as you can see, it's the middle of the busy season. She told me that she had talked to you earlier about possibly taking her job."

"She did." That particular conversation had been months ago and it took Leah a second to remember it. Leah had honestly thought that Amy might have changed her mind about moving away.

"Well, are you interested?" Mr. Keyo was always straight and to the point, "You would need to hire some more people for the busy season. Maybe two more people, depending on their availability. And you would be in charge of scheduling everyone. But the pay is $12 an hour."

When Amy had mentioned to Leah that she was going to quit all those months ago, Amy had neglected to mention the pay increase. With that type of money, working all summer, Leah would barely have to take out loans for the next semester.

"Yes," Leah said quickly, without thinking about it. $12 an hour was almost unthinkable and thanks to all those damn weekly meetings with the Elders, she was a pro at making schedules. Finally, being in the Pack was paying off.

"Great!" Mr. Keyo exclaimed, "That was easier than I thought it would be. I'll put in the paperwork for accounting right away. You should talk to Amy about what all needs to be done for hiring, but you should get on it right away. You'll conduct the initial interviews, but I'll approve the final decisions. Any questions?"

It was so much information all at once that Leah took a second to process it all. She stared at Mr. Keyo. Harry had always gotten along well with Mr. Keyo – they would frequently go fishing together – and, like her father, Leah had never considered Mr. Keyo to be old. But now, with his long hair greying and a grim, stressed look on his face, Leah saw him differently.

"No, sir," Leah answered after a second.

"Great. Let me know if you do."

Leah took that as her sign to leave the little office. She turned around and walked back to the front desk. Other than Amy, the entire lobby was empty.

"How mad is he?" Amy asked as soon as Leah shut the door.

"He's pretty mad," Leah told her honestly, "But congrats on putting in your two weeks!"

"Thanks," Amy grinned, "I'm looking forward to getting out of here for a bit."

"A bit?" Leah questioned.

"I might be back after I finish school. Who knows? The world is my oyster!" A ringing phone on the front desk cut off Amy's triumphant speech. Amy reached for the phone before Leah could, "Front desk. How can I help you?"

As Amy assisted the guests on the phone, Leah couldn't help letting her mind go back to the $12 an hour that she'd soon be making. The rest of it she could take or leave, but the $12 an hour… well, that was really life-changing. Leah glanced at the clock. She had less than an hour left in her shift and then she could go tell the news to anyone and everyone she could find. She'd stop by Jake's garage first. Billy had recently loaned him money to flip a car and she was sure Jake would be there since it was Sam's pack on patrol today. And then, of course, Sue would want to know. Leah was sure she could convince Sue to make pork chops for dinner instead of the casserole Sue had planned...

Suddenly, the whole situation hit Leah like a ton of bricks. Why would she tell Jake before she told Sue? That didn't make any sense. Sue was Leah's mother and Leah had a good relationship with her mother and this was a big deal. Sue should be the first person Leah told. Hell, Leah should tell Kim before she told Jake. They were friends after all. Of course, Kim would probably know already, since Amy was her sister and all. And yet all Leah could think about was driving to Jake's garage and drinking a warm soda and watching him fix up a car or whittle or whatever it was he was doing. And that, Leah, thought to herself, was horrifying. Since when did she want to spend all her time with a 17-year-old boy?

The sounds of a large family hauling way too much luggage through the lobby awoke Leah from her daze. There were six of them, two parents and four kids, and they were loud and noisy as they made their way to the front desk.

"Hi!" One of the blonde kids chirped, "We're checking in!"

Leah smiled at them, before looking up at the parents, "What name is the reservation under?"

"Harris!" The leader of the group – or perhaps the follower, who just happened to be in charge – finally made her way up to the front desk.

Leah looked up Harris under the reservation system, locating them quickly and trying to keep thoughts of Jacob out of her mind.

"Busy day?" the mom asked Leah as she waited.

"Pretty busy, yes." Leah printed off the receipt and handed her a pen to sign. She quickly explained the charges and the policies as the kids ran around making a ruckus behind them.

"Are you here for much longer?" The woman asked kindly as she handed Leah back the receipt.

Leah glanced at the clock, "Only about ten minutes, actually."

The shift had sped by, between the number of guests that had cycled through the lobby and the conversation with Mr. Keyo. It felt strangely empty.

"I hope you get to spend some time outside after you finish up!" The woman said cheerfully, "It's so nice out!"

Leah glanced out of the big windows. The sun was shining and it did seem exceptionally bright out, at least for La Push.

"I'm planning on it," Leah said with a smile. She grabbed the keys from the desk and handed them to her, "Here are your keys. You're in Cabin 24, out the doors and to the right. If you hit the fork in the road, you've gone too far. Please feel free to let us know if there is anything else we can help you with."

"Thank you!" It took a while for the woman to usher her entire giant family out of the lobby, but once she did, it was quiet. Amy had been dispatched to deliver more towels to one of the rooms and, while Leah could hear Mr. Keyo speaking in a low, tense voice in his office, it was otherwise uncharacteristically quiet. Leah took a few minutes to tidy up the front desk, which had gotten quite unorganized in the rush. Pieces of paper were scattered throughout the desk and there were no pens in the little penholder. The maps of the hiking trails had fallen on the floor and the lobby just generally looked disreputable.

As Leah was sorting through the leftover receipts, she heard Amy's footsteps approaching the lobby.

"Leah? Isn't your shift over? What are you still doing here?" Amy asked as she approached.

Leah glanced at the clock; her shift had in fact ended five minutes ago. But she was still paralyzed with indecision about where to go now that the shift was over. She knew she should just go straight home, Sue would be there and not bother Jacob, who had a girlfriend and was seventeen.

"Waiting for you. I just didn't want to leave the desk unmanned," Leah lied easily.

"Well, I'm back now. You should go and celebrate! You just got a promotion!" Amy encouraged her.

"I'm going to!" Leah said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

"Good. We should get together for another girl's night before I leave."

"We definitely should," Leah agreed.

"Great! We can talk with Kim and figure out the details later," Amy smiled her, "Have a good one! Congrats!"

Leah said a quick goodbye before she headed out to the parking lot of the Resort. There was no designated parking for employees, so as the high season had picked up, she was forced to park further and further away from the main lodge building. As she walked, and even as she climbed into her car, she debated where to go.

For most of the short ride, the way to the Black's house and the Clearwater's house was the same. So for most of the short ride, Leah didn't have to make a choice. But when she did, she found herself veering off towards the Black's house. She held her breath as she reached the clearing that the house was located in, but her stomach dropped as soon as she saw the vaguely familiar car sitting in front of the house. The only thing stupider than that red truck that Bella Swan used to drive was the equally old black truck that Leah was pretty sure belonged to Alyssa.

Leah rolled her window down, hoping that she was wrong and that the truck was somebody who had come to visit Billy. But within seconds, she heard a high-pitched giggle, followed by a much deeper, much more familiar laugh. The door to the garage was open and, with her werewolf hearing, Leah could have been in mere feet away. Her stomach turned and she backed up her little car as quickly as possible, driving away while praying that no one saw her. At least Sue would be happy to see her.

-&-

The sudden knock on the door didn't mean anything to Leah. Sue had said she was having Charlie and Billy over, although Leah hadn't been expecting them for quite a while. Seth was out with the rest of the pack. After months of complaining about wanting a different activity than bonfires for all-wolf bonding, Leah had gotten her wish. Jared had come up with the stupid idea to have the two Packs participate in an obstacle course competition instead of a bonfire for their next team bonding. Jacob, Embry, Seth, and Quil were all going to practice, but Leah refused to take part. It was stupid and she was sure that they didn't want her invading their practice time anyway. Male bonding or whatever.

"Hi, Mrs. Clearwater. Is Leah home?" With her werewolf hearing, Leah could hear Embry's tense voice as clearly as she would have if she were the one who had opened the door.

"She's upstairs. Let me go get her. Why don't you come in?"

Without even thinking about it, Leah had already stood up and walked quietly towards her bedroom door. The strain in Embry's voice alarmed her, although she was confident that she hadn't heard any howling… If something were seriously wrong, she would have heard howling.

As she stood there puzzling about what in the world could cause Embry to walk all the way to her house, instead of calling or howling or using any other form of communication, Sue climbed the stairs. Before Sue could knock, Leah opened the door to her bedroom.

"Leah," Sue said, surprised, "Embry's downstairs. He wants to see you."

"I know," Leah muttered, pushing past her mother, before explaining, "Werewolf hearing."

Sue let out an exasperated sigh, but Leah paid no attention as she hurried down the stairs.

"Embry?" When Leah made it down the stairs, Embry's back was to her and he was looking out the window. He had pushed the curtains aside and his body was angled away from the window slightly, as if he didn't want to be seen.

"Leah." Embry turned around as soon as Leah said his name. His expression wasn't as tense as Leah was expecting it to be; in fact, it wasn't tense at all. It was almost eerily peaceful, "Is Seth here? Or Quil or Jacob?"

"No," Leah answered quickly, "They're all out practicing for the obstacle course. And I thought you were, too. Embry, what's wrong?"

"So Seth can't hear me?" Embry asked.

"No," Leah assured him.

Embry didn't answer right away, instead looking around the Clearwater house like he was expecting someone to jump out or someone else to be listening in.

"Should we step outside?" Leah asked, nodding to the stairs. Sue's footsteps echoed through the house as she descended the stairs. Maybe Embry didn't want Sue to know whatever it was that had brought him all the way to the Clearwater's place.

"Sure." Even as Embry said it, Leah got the feeling he didn't care much either way.

Leah opened the front door and gestured for Embry to go out. He did, but he immediately scanned the Clearwater's front yard. Leah found herself looking around, as well, after she followed him outside, as she tried to figure out what exactly he was looking for. When Embry didn't react to anything and Leah didn't see anything, either, she spoke again.

"What's going on Embry?" Leah asked.

"Leah, I imprinted." Immediately, upon saying the words, Embry's face broke out into a huge, uncontainable smile.

"You imprinted?"

"Yeah, I did. And Leah, he's perfect. He's in my summer calculus class and his name is Alex and he's super smart – he knew all the answers to the questions – and he was very nice, I talked to him after class and he was so friendly, Leah, even though I'm just a high school kid. And he's so handsome. So good looking. He was dark hair that's long but not too long and he had a great smile and -"

"Embry, stop."

"What?" Embry's face was alarmed as he awoke from his love-induced trance.

"Alex sounds great and perfect and I am so happy for you but I know you didn't come here just to brag about your imprint."

"Right... I need you to take my place at practice tonight and go tell the others that I'm not coming to training," Embry must have noticed the displeased look on Leah's face, for he finished with, "Please, Leah."

"You're not going to tell them?" Leah tried to hide her contempt for Embry's decision.

"Not yet."

"You're not going to be able to hide this," Leah warned, "They'll find out sooner or later. And knowing them, it'll be sooner."

"I know. But I can't tell them yet."

"Why not?"

"Leah, I haven't even told them I'm gay. I just imprinted on Alex today and I don't really know anything about him. Just that he's smart and nice. I just can't tell them yet. Please, Leah, will you cover for me?"

"You can't avoid phasing with them for the rest of your life."

"I know that," Embry sighed, "I'll tell them soon. Maybe even tomorrow. I just need a night. That's all I'm asking for, Leah. Just a night."

"I don't know that I'll be able to keep it a secret," Leah admitted, knowing that she owed it to Embry to be truthful.

"You can," Embry encouraged her, "You've gotten really good at keeping your thoughts a secret. Just focus on the present and what you can see, hear and smell at that particular moment. Don't think about anything else other than what you're currently experiencing."

Before she could say anything, the sound of a car approaching in the distance filled Leah's ears. Both she and Embry looked over and at the edge of the forest, where the trees broke, Charlie's patrol car was peaking through the trees.

"Charlie and Billy?" Embry guessed.

"Sue's having them over for dinner," Leah muttered by way of explanation.

"Right."

It was silly, as neither Billy nor Charlie had any type of supernatural powers, and even if they did, it was unlikely that they would care enough about Leah and Embry's conversation to listen in, but Leah and Embry seemed to come to an unspoken agreement to pause their discussion.

As the patrol car rolled up, Leah and Embry remained frozen in their respective positions. Leah with her arms crossed and Embry standing tensely close to her.

"Leah! How's it going?" Charlie called as he opened his door and walked around to the back of the patrol car to get Billy's wheelchair.

"Hi, Mr. Swan," Leah tried to smile at him. As the wind blew in Leah's direction, she got a whiff of vampire stink. Beside her, Embry crinkled his nose.

"I don't know how you put with the smell all the time," Embry whispered.

"I've gotten used to it," Leah responded grimly.

As soon as Billy had safely transferred to his chair, he called out to Embry and Leah, "Embry! Leah! Everything okay?"

If Leah wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of concern in Billy's voice.

"All good here, Mr. Black. How about you?" Once again, Embry's coolness blew Leah away. There was nothing in his voice that suggested that he had imprinted merely hours before; his face and posture looked more anxious than wistfully in love.

"I heard about your promotion, Leah," Billy said as Charlie rolled him closer to the front door and helped him up the stairs to the porch, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," Leah responded quietly.

"Sue was telling us all about it," Charlie added, "She's mighty proud of you."

Leah didn't bother responding, as Billy had already opened the door to the Clearwater house and was rolling himself up the small ledge and inside by the time Charlie had finished speaking.

"Sue! We have fish for you!" Billy yelled as soon as the door opened.

"Billy? Is that you? Did Leah let you in?" Although Sue's voice faded as Charlie closed the door behind him and Billy, their conversation was still perfectly clear to Leah. But with the door closed, she turned again to face Embry, knowing that the humans probably wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.

"So, Leah, will you please cover for me?" Embry was practically begging.

"I don't know…" It would absolutely be Leah's luck that she would accidentally out Embry to his two best friends. She hadn't been in the pack mind with anyone except Embry in over a month. It had been hard enough knowing that she was the only one to know that he was gay; knowing that he was gay and had an imprint just felt like too much pressure. "What would I tell them?"

"You wouldn't have to tell them anything. Just say that I asked you to cover for me and you don't know the reason why."

"And you don't think they won't see right through that?" To say Leah was doubtful was an understatement.

"They can be kinda dense. I bet they won't even question it too much." Embry was much more confident in his friend's cluelessness than Leah was.

"I just don't know that I can keep it a secret, Embry." Best to be honest, Leah figured. Embry would figure out pretty quickly if she wasn't and she didn't keep the secret.

"You can, Leah! You've gotten really good at it. I didn't even know you broke up with Danny until Jacob told me."

"You two were gossiping about me?" Leah narrowed her eyes at Embry as she realized the implications of his words.

Sheepishly, Embry shrugged, "It just came up. But see, I didn't know. We've patrolled together a ton in that time and never once did you think about it. And I know that you slept with him more than that one time but you never thought about that."

"Those things weren't really a big deal to me."

"And me imprinting is?" Embry challenged.

It wasn't. Not really. The last person to imprint was Seth and that had hurt because Seth was her brother and now he was dragging a half-vampire into her life. And also because imprinting in general sucked. But Embry wanted to imprint. He had told her that. So no, it wouldn't really make sense for Embry's love life to matter to Leah more than her own.

"I guess not," she said finally.

"So you'll do it?" Embry said hopefully.

"Sure." She hadn't done anything destructive lately, why not do this?

"Thank you, Leah," Embry beamed, "I owe you big time."

"Yeah, you do," Leah agreed. She stared pointedly at Embry.

"I'll pay you back sometime. I'll figure it out."

"You better," she sighed and ran her hand through her short hair. Over a year later and she still missed her long hair sometimes, "So did you get this kid's number or anything?"

"Well… no. But he did talk to me after class. I think maybe he was flirting."

"You think he was flirting?"

"Leah, I'm a 17-year-old kid from a small town. I don't have much flirting experience. How am I supposed to know if he was flirting with me or not?!" At that moment, Embry looked younger than he had since he had phased. He reminded Leah of the younger kid she used to know.

"Okay… fair."

"Do you think there was a chance he was?" Embry looked like a little lovesick puppy, looking up so hopefully at Leah.

"Anything is possible, kid."

Embry didn't respond, at least not right away. They stood around awkwardly. Leah didn't know what else to say, but it seemed like maybe Embry needed some type of emotional support or something. She wasn't any good at the sappy things, but the last time anyone imprinted it was Seth and then Leah had to help Jacob prevent a whole war and she was, frankly, too horrified that her brother had imprinted on a fucking half-vampire. But this was a little different. It sounded like Alex was a nice human guy and there was no risk of war, at least as far as Leah knew.

"Well, now we know one thing for sure. Sam was wrong," Embry said before Leah could figure out what else to say to him.

"What?" Leah asked automatically. Of course, she realized what Embry was referring to before he spoke again, "Oh. About the breeding thing."

"Yeah."

"Well… there's that." As a whole, Leah liked anytime Sam was incorrect. It didn't matter what about, just as long as he was proven wrong. But Leah didn't get that same sense of satisfaction this time. Instead, dread filled her stomach as she realized what it meant. She could still potentially imprint. She hadn't loved the idea of being infertile, but she knew that there were other ways to potentially have kids if she ever decided that she wanted them in the future. It wasn't like she was completely out of options. But if she imprinted…. Well, then she wouldn't have any choice. At least not when it came to her love life or a life partner.

Leah tried to peek into her house to catch a glance of the clock. She could only see the hour hand, but it was clearly on the six.

"When are you supposed to meet the others again?" she asked Embry, determined to avoid talking about the truth about Sam's theory.

"A while ago," Embry admitted sheepishly.

Leah glared at him, "I'll go change and get going then. You go… fantasize about your imprint or whatever, I guess."

"Thank you, Leah." Embry, at least, sounded genuinely grateful for what Leah was doing for him.

"Bye, Embry," she said forcefully, to encourage him to leave her house so that she could get him and his stupid imprinting out of her head.

"Bye, Leah!" he replied as he jumped off the Clearwater's porch. Embry didn't have his mom's car with him and Leah realized that he had walked over. The Calls lived clear on the other side of the res. Embry must have really wanted to talk to her.

Leah snuck back inside and upstairs without saying anything to her mother or Charlie or Billy. Hurriedly, she changed into an outfit easier for phasing – cut-offs and a tank top. She tried to focus on the present – the smell of fish fry coming from downstairs, the sound of Charlie's gruff laughter – and not to the horrifying reality that Embry's imprinting left her with. She hadn't realized until now how much she was counting on Sam's theory to be true. Leah didn't want to be tied to someone without a choice or say in the matter. The supernatural had taken so much of her life from her; she just wanted this to be left alone.

From downstairs, dishes clattered as everyone continued their jovial conversation. Focus, Leah thought to herself determinedly. A second scent was joining the smell of fish fry. Sue's cornbread. And of course, Leah could still smell the lingering scent of vampire that perpetually covered the house these days.

Leah bounded downstairs, listening carefully at the sound her feet made as they hit each step.

"Leah?" Sue called, "Is that you?"

Leah must not have been as quiet as she hoped. She paused before realizing that Sue was wanting her to answer, "Yes, Mom! It's me."

"Do you want some food?" Sue asked as she appeared at the foot of the stairs. She looked up at Leah, her face puzzling as she saw Leah's new outfit, "Did you change? Are you going out?"

"I'm going to go train for the, uh, obstacle course," Leah explained.

"Are you?" Sue raised her eyebrows and stared at Leah.

"Yep."

"What did Embry want?"

Leah had hoped Sue wouldn't ask that question, "Nothing. Just some questions about the patrol schedule." Leah smiled at her mother, knowing that Sue would see right through her lie.

"Hmph," Sue observed Leah, who did her best to keep her face unreadable, "Do you want some food before you go?"

"No." Less of a chance of Sue asking questions that way. Leah pushed past Sue and made her way to the front door, "I'll be back later."

Leah didn't wait for Sue to respond before she left. As she jogged to the forest, she tried she did her best to focus her senses on what she could feel, smell, taste, hear and see right now. The faint laughter of Charlie and Billy. The smell of fresh pine needles. The warm summer evening air. With those things in mind, she tore off her clothes and phased.

_Hello, boys._

As soon as Leah willed the words into the pack mind, she could feel the others' reaction to her presence. From Jacob, there was a genuine shock. Quil was surprised too, but also confused. And from Seth, irritation.

_Leah! What are you doing here?_ Seth's disappointment was obvious. After so long of patrolling only with Embry and only spending passing moments in the pack bond with the others, Leah had forgotten how open the others were with their emotions and thoughts. Nothing was hidden. It was all out in the open.

Focusing back on the smell of the pine needles and the slight scent of the stream in the distance, Leah answered, _Embry stopped by and asked me to tell you that he won't be able to make it._

They were shocked when she joined the pack mind, but it was nothing compared to the confusion and surprise that was evident when Leah told them why she was here.

_Is he okay?_ Jake asked immediately.

The wind blew slightly and Leah could hear the trees bristling in the breeze. It wafted the scent of nearby wildflowers to her, a surprising sweetness filling the air.

_Embry's fine,_ she assured him. The scent of the wildflowers was gone now, replaced by the comforting scent of the pine trees, _He just couldn't make it today and asked me to step in._

_Why did he ask you?_ Seth was disbelieving of her.

_He couldn't exactly ask any of you since you were all already phased, now could he? I was the only one who wasn't. So it had to be me._

_But why couldn't he come?_

_Something came up._

_What the fuck? What the hell came up that he would tell you and not us?_ Quil demanded.

_I don't even know, to be honest. He just said it was an emergency and asked me to tell you he can't come._ She was running fast enough that the trees were starting to blur together, creating a pretty mix of greens and browns.

_Right._ Both Quil and Jacob were suspicious but neither of them questioned her, just like Embry had said. Leah could hear birds chirping in the distance.

_Are you going to practice the obstacle course with us, Leah?_ Seth asked.

_No._ Leah answered automatically.

_Why not? If Embry isn't going to practice we need someone to replace him._ Quil pointed out.

_Because I have things to do._

_No, you don't!_ Seth piped in unhelpfully, _You said you weren't going to do anything tonight when I asked this morning._

_I – thanks, Seth. Thanks a lot._

_Then you_ can _practice with us, huh, Leah?_ Jacob was teasing in his thoughts, but Leah still felt trapped.

_C'mon, Leah, it'll be fun! And you're better than Embry, anyway, so you'd be more of an asset._

_I doubt Sam's letting anyone sit out._ Quil's words taunted her just a little bit.

_There are two eighth-graders in Sam's pack. If you guys can't beat them, then that's on you._

_But if you join us, then we'll definitely beat them._ Jake thought confidently.

_You're the fastest. And they're expecting you to sit out. If you actually compete it'll shock them to death._ In an uncommon show of competitiveness, Seth's mind was going wild with visions of their pack destroying Sam's pack at the course. Sensing that the others were surprised by his fantasy, Seth explained, _What? Brady and Colin beat me the last few times we've played Call of Duty and I'm sick of it._

_Don't let the younger kids beat you up,_ Leah told her brother.

_We could put Leah up against Jared, Beta versus Beta,_ Quil mused.

_Leah would kick Jared's ass,_ Jacob agreed before directing his thoughts at her, _Leah, you should at least practice and so if you decide to compete you're ready for it._

_Fine,_ Leah agreed grudgingly.

Through the bond, she could sense everyone's happiness at her decision. It was nice, Leah had to admit, to be welcomed and wanted. And not really what she expected. But they were all unquestionably happy that she'd agreed. Leah quickly focused her attention back on the sound of the trees bustling with the slight breeze before she could dwell on the warm feeling she had in her stomach.

_Race you to the course!_ Seth enthusiastically took off running, happy that, since he was so much closer to the course than anyone else, he actually had a chance at winning.

Quil and Jacob were together, closer to the course than Leah was, and so they arrived just before she did, Jacob beating Quil, of course. Seth had arrived first, triumphant in his mini-victory, even if he knew it wasn't really a fair win.

The course was about a mile long, designed by all members of the packs (except Leah) so that they all knew what was coming. Sue had spoken happily about how designing the course could serve as a bonding activity, while Old Quil seemed to be more excited about the competition itself and thought it would encourage both of the packs to get stronger.

Designed for two people to go through at once, the course was a loop about two miles long and included a variety of different elements. Quil and Seth took off first, while Jacob and Leah hung back, watching through the bond as the other two zoomed across the course. Seth's wolf was smaller than Quil's, and Seth was able to duck into the tunnels that Paul and Sam had constructed much more quickly and run through the agility part of the course, but Quil made up for it when it came to climbing the trees that Brady had wanted to include.

_It was close!_ Seth claimed when he approached the finish line, even as he lagged behind Quil.

_Nice try, kid. Maybe next year._ Quil was smug about his victory over Seth, _Leah and Jacob, you go!_

Leah made eye contact with Jacob's wolf and they both lined up at the starting line.

_On your mark, get set, go!_ Quil cried.

Both of them set off running towards the first challenge, a series of river crossings designed by Brady. It was far enough away where Leah's speed made a difference, giving her a head start that she managed to keep until they were tasked with knocking over a wall of bricks, something that Jacob's size and strength gave him an advantage in that Leah couldn't overcome.

Jacob finished first, with Leah close behind, a respectable second. She knew she wouldn't be able to beat Jacob, but she was happy it was so close.

Leah was loath to admit it, but the obstacle course was actually somewhat fun. She had never fully tested the limits of her wolf powers, but flying over rocks and climbing trees made her realize that she should take advantage of these superpowers while she had them.

Maybe the obstacle course wasn't the worse idea that Jared had ever come up with after all. Especially if her pack could actually decimate Sam's pack like Quil and Seth were convinced that they would.

_Too bad we don't have any bloodsuckers to kill at the end of it,_ Jacob remarked.

_Think the Cullens would volunteer?_ Quil asked Seth.

_I could ask them!_ Seth offered cheerfully.

_No!_ Both Jake and Leah thought in unison.

_Why not?_ Seth asked.

_Just… no._ Leah thought forcefully.

_Bad idea, kid,_ Jacob agreed, _Too easy for an, ahem, accident to happen._

_Yeah, I'd love to get a bite out of that blonde one._ That stupid bitch deserved it.

_Rosalie's perfectly nice, Leah!_

_Is that Paul? That sounds like Paul to me._ Quil's attempt to change the subject was obvious, but when Leah listened closely, she could hear the distant thumps of what must surely be wolf paws.

_How can you tell who it is?_ Seth demanded, his attention completely diverted from their previous conversation.

_Just a gut feeling._

_We need to end practice now,_ Jacob decided, _We can't let the other Pack see us practicing. We need the element of surprise._

_It's not the Olympics, Mighty Alpha._ Leah had a competitive streak, to be sure, but she wasn't about to waste it on this stupid obstacle course.

_It might as well be!_ Jacob stopped his pacing and listened. _It's definitely Paul. We gotta get out here._

Seth went off to the Cullens and Quil ran off to his house, leaving Jacob and Leah alone. They raced through the trees, mostly staying together, although Leah took off ahead of Jacob, determined to beat him at something.

_Should we phase back?_ Leah asked as they reached the road that led to both of their houses.

_Probably._ Jacob ducked behind a tree, _No peeking!_

_Like it's anything I'd want to see._ But by the time Leah was finished thinking it, Jacob had already left the bond.

Leah phased quickly and untied her own shirt and pants from her leg.

"Are you decent?" Jacob yelled just as she finished slipping her shorts back on.

"Not yet!"

"Let me know when!"

Leah adjusted her t-shirt so it covered her midriff and her boobs weren't poking out, "I'm decent!"

Jacob appeared from the other side of the tree, shirtless and in jean cut-offs. Together, they walked towards the road. They had phased only a hundred or so yards back from the edge of the road, almost as close as they could comfortably get as wolves in daylight without risking people on the road seeing them.

They weren't far from their houses, closer than the community center from where they normally did this walk. But they walked slowly, talking about their lives as they did. Jacob told Leah about the newest car that he was trying to fix up and his attempt to sell his woodcarvings at Quil's family store; Leah finally told Jacob about her promotion at the Resort ("$12 an hour! That's insane!" Jacob had crowed by way of congratulations).

They were over halfway to the point where they split off when a car began to approach them. Instinctively, they both jumped to the side of the road as the car approached. In the red sedan, a tanned girl with long hair drove by, making eye contact as she passed. Leah was sure she'd seen her before – the reservation was small enough that she certainly had – but she couldn't place the girl right away.

"Fuck. That was Laurel who just drove by."

"Laurel? Who's Laurel?" It took a second for Leah to place the name Laurel. All she could think of was a little kid named Laurel, but it occurred to her that the last time she saw that little kid was several years ago. It was likely the same person.

"Alyssa's best friend. You think she saw us?"

Leah looked over at Jacob. He wasn't wearing a shirt and Leah knew she wasn't quite dressed appropriately, either. But they were right by the road; the only way this Laurel girl might have missed them if she was blind.

"Oh yeah. She did," Leah told him.

"Great. Just fucking great."

Leah couldn't help but chuckle at his misery, "That bad?"

"Alyssa's convinced something is going on between us," Jacob admitted. He sounded slightly embarrassed, "She keeps asking about you. 'Why's Leah Clearwater going to be there?' 'Why do you spend so much time with Leah Clearwater?'"

"Does she use my last name like that, too?"

"A lot of times."

Leah chuckled in response.

"Alyssa's going to break up with me, isn't she?" Jake asked suddenly.

Leah glanced over one more time at Jacob's worried face, "That's between you and her. But if my best friend saw my boyfriend stumbling out of the woods half-naked with a girl I was already jealous of, I would break up with him."

"I gotta go talk to her," Jake mumbled. He kicked a rock that was in the road. It ended up flying way down the road and hit the ground with a loud crash.

"Probably a good idea."

"Or I could just avoid her," Jacob said more brightly.

"Just go rip the band-aid off, Jake." On one hand, Leah knew that she should encourage Jacob to make up with Alyssa. But on the other hand, she just didn't care.

Jacob didn't respond to Leah and they walked in silence, except for the rocks that Jake kept kicking on the dirt road. Each one seemed to fly further than the last.

"Hey, Leah, you sure nothing's wrong with Embry?" Jake asked, as he turned around and looked at Leah.

"Jake, Embry is perfectly fine, I promise."

"Sometimes I think you know more about him than I do." There was an accusatory note in Jacob's voice.

"He's your best friend, Jake."

"Sure, sure," Jake muttered. Leah could feel him staring at her. She kept her eyes trained ahead of her, grateful that they were in human form and not wolf form. They were approaching the turn to the Black's house.

From behind them, another car approached. This time, it was an old familiar truck. It seemed to be heading straight towards them.

"Fuck. That's Alyssa."

Leah couldn't help but laugh, though she knew it was cruel.

"I'm fucked," Jacob muttered.

Leah looked back at the truck and then once again at Jacob. She swore the truck had sped up and was coming right at them.

"Yeah, you are," She agreed, "But I gotta get out of here before I have to explain why I can survive getting hit by a truck. I'll see you later, Jake."

And with that, Leah headed towards the forest, planning on cutting through the woods the rest of the way home, leaving Jake to face Alyssa's wrath alone.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

The sun was peeking out of the clouds and the beach was crowded by the time Jacob got there a little after ten in the morning. He had been working on fixing up his newest car that he was trying to flip, but he needed a break. All the way from his garage, he could hear Claire's little shrieks of joy as she played on the beach. After seeing her there with Quil so many times, both in person and in the pack bond, he would recognize those squeals anywhere. Jacob wasn't sure if Quil was watching her or not, but Jacob figured that he might as well check.

"Jake!" Emily waved to him from across the beach. Jacob had gotten a sinking feeling that it wasn't Quil watching Claire when he hadn't heard Quil's laughter joining Claire's and Marissa's, but the sight of Emily confirmed it.

"Hey, Emily!" he called back once he made his way past the throngs of tourists playing on the beach. Emily was away from the water a bit, but she was still watching Claire and Marissa carefully. The two girls were playing an elaborate game where they would take turns running to the surf as a wave approached and then running back. Their shrieks of laughter could be heard from quite the distance.

"I haven't seen you in forever," Emily exclaimed, "How have you been?"

"Good, good."

"Anything new?" If Jacob wasn't mistaken, there was a glimmer in Emily's eye as she asked the question.

"I had a girlfriend but then I got dumped, if that's what you're asking."

Emily's face fell as soon as Jacob said it, "Oh, I'm sorry Jacob. I had heard you were dating someone but I didn't realize it hadn't worked out…"

"It's fine, it's no big deal." It really wasn't. Alyssa's absence in Jacob's life so far had hardly been noticeable. He realized he didn't miss her hanging out in the garage with him nor did he miss spending time with her stupid friends. And really, Jacob was just glad that he no had to deal with her awkward questions about where he was going and who he would be with, "It just happened two days ago. I guess gossip around here spreads slower than I thought it did."

"I guess so…" Emily agreed awkwardly.

"How's the wedding planning going? Is it all finished?" Jacob's obvious attempt to change the subject was only to make Emily feel better, but it seemed to work. She immediately brightened up.

"Good! Great. I think I have almost everything planned and ready. The flowers are ordered, the cake is ordered, the dress is ready; it's all ordered or ready or almost ready, I think. It's only a few more weeks now, can you believe that? Claire, come back here!" Emily's excitement about her wedding was cut off by Claire running off towards the rocks by the tidal pools, "Claire!"

Without waiting for Emily to react, Jacob hurried towards the rocks, where his long strides were no match for Claire's fastest sprint.

"Unca Jay! Put me down!" Claire protested as Jacob scooped her up in arms. She wriggled in his arms.

"You can't run away from Auntie Emily," Jacob scolded her, "You gotta stay with Auntie Em and Marissa."

As soon as Jacob returned to where Emily was standing, he set Claire back on the ground.

"Here, Claire, why don't you and Marissa collect some seashells?" Emily offered Claire a small pail from her oversized tote bag, which Claire accepted happily.

"Rissy! Rissy! Shells!" Claire cried as she ran off towards her sister.

"What were we talking about?" Emily asked Jacob.

"You were just telling me how the wedding planning is almost finished."

"Right. Well, you don't really care about that, do you? I won't bore you with the details."

"Er, not really," Jacob admitted sheepishly, "I really only came down here cause I was looking for Quil…"

Never one to take things too personally, Emily just laughed, "I haven't actually heard from him yet today. Normally he stops by around lunchtime or after naptime. Wasn't he on patrol last night? He might have slept in."

"Right, thanks, Emily." Jacob had forgotten that Seth and Quil were on patrol last night. There was a decent chance that Quil was still sleeping, "I'll go check at his place, then."

"Come by soon, Jake," Emily told him, "I made some chocolate banana muffins this morning. There's still plenty left."

"Paul hasn't eaten them all yet?

Emily laughed, "Not that I know of. But I'll make you more if you stop by!"

"I will, soon," Jacob promised, "I'll see you later, Emily."

As Jacob walked off, it occurred to him that Emily might be lonely. He didn't think that she had a lot of friends in La Push other than Sam and his cronies. Rachel didn't seem to spend a lot of time with her and Kim appeared to be better friends with Leah than with Emily. The world of girls and their drama was something that Jacob was determined to be done with now that he was done with Alyssa.

It wasn't long till he made it to the Quil's house. With his werewolf hearing, he could tell that the only person in the house was Quil – and based on the loud snores, Jacob could tell that Quil was still sleeping.

Jacob had been hanging out there since he was a toddler and knew that there was a spare key hidden in the gutter above the porch. Reaching for it easily, Jacob let himself into the house. He took the stairs two at a time, stopping in front of Quil's bedroom door.

"Yo, Quil! Wake up!" Jacob pounded on the door.

"Jake?" A groggy-sounding Quil could be heard from the other side of the door.

Jacob didn't wait any longer and pushed the door open.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Quil sat straight up in bed and stared at Jacob.

"It's almost eleven. You gotta get up."

"Jake, man, I was on patrol last night," Quil complained.

"And patrol ends at 4:30. You're fine."

Quil rolled out of bed and grabbed a shirt from a pile of clothes by the foot of his bed, "Is there a reason you're getting me up so early?"

"We gotta do something about Embry."

"Embry?" Quil rubbed his eyes and put his shirt on, "Is there something wrong with him?"

"He's avoiding me."

Jacob had called Embry two days ago, after Alyssa had dumped him, but no one had answered. So he called again the next morning and once again, no one answered. He called that afternoon and Ms. Call answered and said Embry was gone and when Jacob called in the evening and Ms. Call answered again, she was so annoyed that Jacob didn't dare call again. Ms. Call could be scary when she wanted to.

"What?" Quil asked, "What do you mean he's been avoiding you?"

"He hasn't returned my calls." As he said it, Jacob was aware that it sounded somewhat pathetic, so he added, "I think something is going on with him. There was something fishy about him not showing up to the obstacle course practice. And now he won't call me back. And the last time he was avoiding me like this it was because he had turned into a giant wolf."

"I highly doubt he's turning into another giant animal, Jake. And I think he'd tell us this time if he was." Quil said, "But we'll go track him down if you want. I haven't heard from him either, now that I'm thinking about it."

"Maybe the Makah turn into something different," Jacob offered, "Giant beavers or something."

Quil rolled his eyes, "You're just being paranoid. Let me eat some breakfast and then we'll go."

They made their way downstairs to the kitchen, where Quil grabbed a box of Frosted Flakes. Because he was also a wolf and also a good friend, Quil didn't wait for Jacob to say anything and just took out a second big bowl for Jacob. They each poured themselves giant bowls of cereal. Never mind that Jacob had eaten breakfast only a few hours ago. He was already hungry again.

"I went by the beach and saw Claire," Jacob told Quil in between bites.

At the mention of his imprint, Quil's eyes lit up, "Really?"

"She was there with Emily and Marissa. Misbehaving. Claire ran away from Emily."

Quil chuckled, "She's at the stage where she's doing that. She likes to test the limits, I think."

Jacob rolled his eyes at Quil, who was smiling like a proud dad, "Have you seen Cora lately?"

"She called last night and we talked for a bit." Quil took a giant bite of cereal and shrugged, "She wants to hang out soon."

"You gonna do it?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Probably good for me to hang out with some girls my own age." Quil shrugged again and took another giant bite of food. He poured himself another bowl of cereal before speaking again, "You doing okay, Jake? With the whole Alyssa thing?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm more concerned about Embry avoiding me than Alyssa dumping me. Which is why I want to find him." Jacob finished his bowl of cereal and let his spoon hit the bowl with a clang. He crossed his arms and stared at his friend.

"I'm hurrying!" To prove his point, Quil aggressively shoved several spoonfuls of Frosted Flakes into his mouth, "Jesus. So pushy."

"You ready?" Jacob asked, ignoring Quil until he slurped up the last of his cereal.

Quil sighed dramatically and drank the remaining milk from his bowl. He grabbed both his and Jacob's bowls and placed them in the sink, "Let's go, Oh Mighty Alpha."

"Are we headed to Embry's place?" Quil asked as they made their way out the door and down towards the road.

"I guess so." Jacob really wasn't sure where else Embry would be. It was Friday and Jacob knew that Embry's summer class wasn't in session on Friday. And he certainly wasn't at Quil's house nor had he come by Jacob's garage, so that left the Embry's small house as the only other place that Embry could be.

It was a short walk from Quil's house to Embry's and with their long legs, Jacob and Quil made it quickly.

"You think Leah knew what was going on with Embry?" Jacob asked, thinking back to Leah's mysterious appearance at the obstacle course practice session. Something had been off about that.

"Who knows, dude? It wouldn't surprise me."

"The whole thing was just… weird," Jacob paused for a second before electing to continue, "You think anything is going on between them?"

"What, like, romantically?"

Jacob hesitated before he responded. Embry and Leah spent so much time together and were always on patrol together. It seemed like a distinct possibility to Jacob, "Yeah."

"Nah, Embry wouldn't do that to you. He knows how much you like her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jacob demanded, "I don't like Leah. I tolerate her, same as all of you do."

"I just mean that he knows how close the two of you are. Alpha and Beta and all. Embry wouldn't do anything that would come between that."

"I don't like Leah. I _don't,_ " Jacob protested again when Quil shot him a skeptical look, "I don't like her."

"Yeah, whatever, Jake," Quil muttered, stepping up his pace, forcing Jacob to walk faster, "I'm just saying that I don't think anything is going on between Embry and Leah romantically. They're just friends, the same as all of us. And I doubt he told Leah anything that he wouldn't tell us."

"I just don't know why he'd tell Leah and not us." Jacob knew he was whining now, but he said it anyway, "And it's totally fine if they're dating or whatever. They'd be good for each other."

"You're overthinking this, Jake. Leah and Embry…" Quil trailed off and it took Jacob only a few seconds to realize why. Embry's house had just come into sight and there was a very familiar car sitting outside of it. Jacob had spent months working on Leah's car for her – he'd recognize it in an instant.

"You were saying?" Jacob's annoyance at Quil bled through his words. Clearly, something was going on with Embry and Leah, and Quil was out here trying to convince him that nothing was happening.

"Maybe Seth borrowed Leah's car," Quil offered feebly, "Come on, might as well go see what's going on."

They continued their walk in silence. Jacob was trembling as he walked, anger rising at both of his two best friends. And his Beta. It was the most anger that he'd experienced in months. Despite what he told Quil, Jacob was not totally fine with Embry and Leah dating.

"Jake, calm down," Quil warned with a hiss as they approached Embry's front door, "Don't make a scene."

Jacob raised his fist to knock on the door, but before he could, he heard voices from inside the house.

"I'm just saying that you need a plan. They were suspicious two days ago and Seth asked me again what was going on last night." Leah's loud voice came through the closed door, easily heard with Jacob's werewolf hearing.

"I'm going to tell them, Leah, I am." Embry's response was sheepish and sounded half-hearted.

Quil and Jacob glanced at each other. Jacob was sure that Quil's bewildered expression matched his own; curiosity had replaced the anger that Jacob had running through his veins mere seconds ago.

Before he could think any more about it, Jacob knocked on the door. Immediately, Leah and Embry's conversation ceased. Jacob recognized Leah's light footsteps heading towards the front door.

"Hello! Come on in." Leah gestured for Jacob and Quil to enter. The tone in her voice was indecipherable; it was not quite welcoming but not quite harsh, either. Jacob and Quil followed her into the small house, but stayed near the doorway, hesitant to enter any further without an invitation from Embry. Embry was standing across the room with his arms crossed. Jacob studied him. There was nothing immediately different about Embry, at least that Jacob could see, but his tense posture reminded Jacob of when Embry had first phased and he would avoid Jacob and Quil.

"Can you call Seth?" Embry's words were directed to Leah. Leah shot him a look.

"I'm only doing this once," Embry responded forcefully.

"Okay…" Leah turned to the small kitchen and picked up the phone. Embry still wouldn't look at Jacob, instead keeping his eyes trained on the floor. But when Jacob looked, he saw nothing special about the floor. It was just the normal, beat-up carpet that had always been in Embry's house.

Jacob turned to look at Quil, whose expression was even more bewildered than before. Any anger that had lingered was now just sheer confusion. Nothing about this situation made sense.

"What the fuck?" Quil mouthed to Jacob.

In response, Jacob could only nod as he tried to comprehend what the hell was going on. Jacob's mind was racing. Maybe Embry had cancer and was dying. Or he'd murdered his mom in a fit of anger. Or he'd knocked up some girl and wanted to give the baby to Leah. Or… there were a thousand different possibilities running through Jacob's mind.

"Seth's on his way!" Leah announced as she returned to the living room. She sat down on the couch and leaned back, "He's coming in wolf form so he'll be here shortly. Jacob, Quil, how have you been?"

"I woke up like twenty minutes ago," Quil muttered. He sat down beside Leah on the couch and rubbed his eyes as if to make a point.

The absurdity of the situation made Jacob want to laugh. Leah acting like nothing was wrong, Embry refusing to talk to them and Quil focused on nothing but sleep.

"See any vamps on patrol?" Leah asked.

"No."

Leah nodded her head, but it was obvious that she didn't have anything else to say. Jacob looked around the little house that he'd spent so much time in over the years. It was familiar, but the situation was not. The whole situation was more awkward and tenser than that time when Jacob, Leah, and Seth had met Jared, Quil, and Paul in the forest. The three of them – Quil, Embry, and Jacob – hadn't spent too much time at Embry's since they had started phasing due to the stress it put on Embry's relationship with his mom. Being here now felt like everything had moved a half-inch to the right.

The faint sound of footsteps approaching the house made the whole room even tenser. Whatever the fuck was going on, they were about to find out. Jacob was guessing that Embry had knocked some girl up. Embry would have told them if he'd killed his mom and it seemed unlikely that he'd have cancer, although who knew how the wolf thing had fucked up their bodies. Maybe they all had cancer.

There was a timid knock on the door.

"It's open!" Leah called. Jacob wondered if she had moved in or something, the way she was acting like she owned Embry's house.

Seth pushed open the front door and stepped in, "Hey, everyone."

"Hi, Seth. Jacob, Seth, sit down," Leah instructed in a tone not dissimilar to one that Sue frequently used, "Embry has something to tell you."

Without questioning it, Jacob sat between Leah and Quil on the only couch in the room.

"Where am I supposed to… never mind," Seth muttered, stopping when Leah shot him a look of death. Seth sat down on the floor at the edge of the sofa.

"Embry," Leah prompted. Jacob was palatably nervous as Embry turned around and looked at them for the first time all day.

"I imprinted," Embry said it so quickly that Jacob wasn't sure he heard him correctly. It was only the giant grin that graced Embry's face that confirmed to Jacob what Embry had said. Jacob had seen the same smile on so many of his friend's faces now. He supposed it was only a matter of time until it was his own face that would have that stupid, idiotic smile on it.

"What?! That's great!" Seth cheered. He shot up immediately. Seth would consider this to be good news, Jacob thought bitterly.

"Are you serious?" Quil crowed, "On who? Who is it?

"Congratulations," Jacob managed, fighting the sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Thanks," Embry beamed.

"Is this why you've been avoiding us?" Jacob asked. No one had imprinted since Seth, almost a year ago now, and in that time, Jacob had nearly let the threat of imprinting slip away from his mind.

"Who did you imprint on?" Quil demanded before Embry could answer Jacob's question.

"That's the thing…" Embry started, his face suddenly serious again, "His name's Alex."

"Alex who?" Quil questioned, "Do we know her? I don't know an Alex. Is there an Alex up in Neah Bay?"

"Wait…" Seth paused and furrowed his eyebrows, "Did you say _his_?"

It took Jacob a second to replay the scene in his head, but Jacob realized that's what he had heard, too.

"Uh, yeah. Surprise!" Embry held up his hands and shrugged.

A silence fell over the room. Jacob's mind started reeling. The imprinting had left them in some pretty inconceivable situations. Sam with his girlfriend's cousin, Quil with a two-year-old, and Seth with the demon child. And now Embry with a man? That was pretty fucked up unless…

"Are you _happy_ about it?" Jacob managed to ask.

"Yeah, actually, I am." Embry's face was back to the stupid blissful face of all imprinted wolves.

"Cool, man. Congrats," Seth stepped forward and embraced Embry in an awkward hug.

"Yeah, Embry, welcome to the club," Quil jumped up from the couch and congratulated Embry with a pat on the back.

"I'm happy for you." The words came out of Jacob's mouth automatically. Over a year into this shit and he still found this imprinting stuff strange and sickening. But clearly, Embry was thrilled. And Seth and Quil were happy for Embry and so Jacob was, too.

Jacob made his way to Embry and gave him the same congratulatory pat on the back that Quil did. Jacob was still confused; he couldn't understand why Leah seemed to know this before the rest of them did and why Embry had kept it from them but, all things considered, this was much better than any of the crazy scenarios Jacob was imagining. Embry imprinting on a guy and being happy about it was actually fairly reasonable, all things considered.

"Thanks, Jake," Embry whispered as Jacob approached him.

"Group hug!" Seth cried out. Jacob felt Seth's arms wrap around him and Embry, followed by another set of arms belonging to Quil, "Even you, Leah!"

Jacob felt a fifth and final set of arms wrapping around him. Without even thinking about it, Jacob moved his arms so that they were reaching around everyone. He felt a soft hand cover his. Leah's. She softly squeezed his hand right before the group broke apart. Even when Leah took her hand off of his, Jacob swore that he could still feel the warmth of her soft hand on his.

"So who is this Alex guy?" Quil asked, "Where'd you meet him? How old is he?"

"He's nineteen! He's in my summer calculus class that I'm taking. We met on the first day of class and when I looked into his eyes I just knew. He was sitting across the room from me but he kept raising his hand when the professor asked questions so I looked over and…" Embry continued his story, but Jacob stopped listening. From his previous experience with the other imprinted wolves, Jacob knew he'd hear this story about a million more times.

Jacob glanced over at his friends. Seth and Quil were listening intently, but Leah was standing back. She made eye contact with Jacob and smiled warmly at him, that genuine smile that could light up an entire room.

A wave of relief washed over Jacob. Leah and Embry weren't a thing. All this imprinting stuff was fucked up, but at least Leah was still single. At least for now. Jacob knew better than to think it would last. Leah was a catch. He glanced over at her and she gave him a quick smile. For the first time, Jacob realized just deep in he was.

-&-

Jacob's plan to nap through the afternoon before his patrol night was falling apart. It started when Embry turned up at his garage fifteen minutes before Jacob planned to take a break, wanting to talk and "clear the air." Jacob assured him it wasn't necessary. If Embry was happy, then so was Jacob. Who cared if Embry was into guys? Jacob didn't. And he'd deck anyone who did. (And secretly, Jacob was still relived that this meant that Embry had never been into Leah and nothing was going on there).

But since Embry was one of Jacob's best friends, Jacob indulged him and let Embry go on and on about how perfect the mythical Alex was. Jacob just let Embry talk as Embry helped him out by handing him tools and eventually grabbing them both lunch (frozen pizzas, sausage for Jacob, and pepperoni for Embry). It was a nice way to spend the morning, but it wasn't the early lunch and nap that Jacob had planned.

Now, as he was lying down in his too-small twin bed, Jacob heard the front door open and close, followed by giggles. Paul and Rachel had returned home from whatever it was they were doing, Jacob realized with a groan. He coughed loudly, making it clear even to Rachel's human ears that they weren't alone in the house. And yet little happened. Rachel's giggles got only a tiny bit quieter before they stopped entirely and were replaced by the unmistakable sound of kissing. Jacob coughed again, just as someone let out a tiny moan. Werewolf hearing was truly a curse.

In his frustration, Jacob jumped out of bed. He opened the door to his bedroom, stepped into the hallway, and then loudly slammed the door again, giving Rachel and Paul every opportunity to get off each other.

"Why haven't you moved out yet?" Jacob grumbled as he stepped into the kitchen. Paul and Rachel were standing much too close together for comfort and Jacob swore that Rachel had her hand up Paul's shirt.

"Shut up, Jake," Rachel replied, "Dad said I can stay as long as I want."

"Where is Dad?" Jacob demanded. He doubted that they would be doing this if Billy were around. Billy might not be a wolf, but the man had authority that Jacob lacked.

Rachel shrugged, "Probably at the Clearwater's again."

Jacob stared at the two of them. Rachel hadn't moved her hand from Paul's back and Paul's fingers were right on Rachel's waistline. Realizing that he could either sit around and listen to his sister have sex or try to find a different place to nap, Jacob marched straight out the front door, letting it slam behind him.

The couch in Jacob's garage was always an option, but it was small and he could never find a way to get even remotely comfortable on it. If Billy was at the Clearwater's, he might as well go there, Jacob reasoned, figuring that Sue would probably have food and Leah might be there. Even if Leah wasn't there, maybe Seth would be and they could play some video games or something. Either way, it was bound to beat what was going on in the house right now.

His feet seemed to have made the decision for him, as Jacob realized he was already traveling the short distance to the Clearwater's place. He walked through the woods, heading towards their back door. As he approached, she spotted Leah in the kitchen. She saw him too, waving at him through the window. By the time that he made it to the back door, she already had it unlocked and opened for him.

"Hey, Jake." There was flour on Leah's shirt and the kitchen was a mess, with bowls strewed everywhere and numerous cabinets open.

"Hey, Leah. Is Billy here?" Jacob guessed not, seeing the state that the kitchen was in. He also guessed that Sue wasn't here, or else she'd be yelling at her daughter for the mess. It seemed likely that Seth also wasn't there, as he would probably be cleaning up after his sister.

"Nope. Sue took him down to visit Charlie. And Seth's at the Cullen's place. I'm home alone!" Leah smiled triumphantly at him, "Why? You looking for him?"

"Not exactly. Rachel and Paul had just taken over the house if you know what I mean, and I didn't know where he was."

"Ew. Gross," Leah crinkled her nose and shook her head just a little bit, "Well, he's at Charlie's."

"I don't really need him. I can just find a place to wait it out. What are you making?" Jacob had to ask, seeing as Leah had gone back to aggressively stirring a less-than-pleasant looking batter.

"Molasses cookies." Leah took a break from her stirring and looked up at Jacob, who quickly put on a forced smile to try to hide his skeptical look, "I know they don't look great, okay? But they were one of my favorites growing up and I thought I'd try to make them."

"I'm sure they'll be delicious," he assured her quickly.

"Thank you," she responded pointedly, "Are you going to stick around to try them?"

"Uh… I guess so." Hanging out with Leah sure beat anything else Jacob could be doing right now. And if there were cookies involved, then that was an extra plus.

"Great!" Leah continued to stir the batter, which was still an unappealing brown, but Jacob remembered that Leah was related to Emily and hoped that the baking thing was genetic, "I think they're almost ready to put in the oven."

Leah put large dollops of dough onto the baking sheet haphazardly. Jacob made eye contact with her and watched as a sheepish grin fell across her face.

"I guess it doesn't really matter if they look pretty as long as they taste good, huh?" she asked, breaking the eye contact to look back at the baking sheet. She put it in the oven and set the timer.

"The taste is the most important part," Jacob agreed. Without being asked, he grabbed a rag from the pile and started to wipe down the disaster zone that Leah had created. Leah was licking the spoon and scraping the bowl, not yet making a move to clean the mess she'd created.

"Want some?" she held out the spoon as an offering.

"I'm good." Jacob's perpetual hunger did not compel him to eat something so oddly colored, "Embry stopped by today," Jacob mentioned casually.

"Oh yeah?" Leah asked.

"He told me you told him to."

Leah blushed as she continued to eat the remains of the dough, "I just thought it would be good to patch things up between you two. Can't have any bad blood in the pack."

"Embry told me you knew."

"Well, I pushed him too hard and put him in a corner so he had to tell me that he was gay. And then he just told me about Alex cause he didn't have anyone else to tell. I don't think he hid it from you on purpose, Jake."

"That makes sense," Jacob said evenly. He grabbed the flour that Leah had out, hoping to change the subject, "Where does this go?"

"Cabinet above the coffee maker." Leah finally stopped scrapping at the bowl she had made the dough in and turned on the sink, "Thanks for helping clean up."

Jacob scanned the kitchen. Even with the little work he had done, it was still an unbelievable mess, "This place looks like a bomb went off. No one ever told you to clean as you go?"

Leah rolled her eyes at him, "You know, I think my dad might have told me that at one point..."

"Should've listened to him. Harry was always full of wisdom," Jacob muttered. He put his hand on the jar of molasses, only to find that it was sticky and needed cleaning. He stepped closer to the sink and dipped a rag in the soapy water to wipe off the jar.

"He was," Leah agreed solemnly. She was silent for a second as she scrubbed the bowl. Water from the sink splashed Jacob's shirt, "Jake, are you doing okay with the Embry imprinting thing?"

"Yeah, I am," Jacob said automatically. It wasn't a lie. He was taken aback when Embry had first told them the news, but Jacob could tell that Embry was genuinely thrilled about everything. Who was Jacob to stop one of his best friends from finding happiness? And Jacob had managed to avoid imprinting so far, he was hopeful that he'd be able to continue that for the rest of his life.

"Good."

"You seem like you're awfully worried about it."

"As I said, I don't want any bad blood in the pack."

"Careful, Clearwater. Next thing you know people might think that you care about us," Jacob teased. He placed the jar of molasses down, finally satisfied that it wasn't too sticky to pick up.

Leah chuckled, "I do care about you guys."

"Do you?"

"I do. The thing is, Jake, a year ago, my life was so awful and I hated the wolf thing so much. But being in your pack... well, it's shown me that it's not all bad. It's been good for me, I think, even if you all are a bunch of morons." She turned away from the sink and faced him.

"Wow, Leah, I'm touched."

"Don't let it go to your head."

"It already has," he told with a smirk. Leah rolled her eyes at him.

"You're such a pain, Jacob."

Leah looked up at Jacob, her dark eyes staring directly into his. She was tall for a girl, but Jacob still towered over her. They were standing so close together that he could feel her supernatural heat radiating from her body. She was so beautiful like this and - against his better judgment - Jacob bent down and kissed her.

Even in Jacob's fantasies, Jacob expected Leah to punch him or jump back or kick him or yell at him or do any number of things but kiss him back. But after a moment, he felt her lips begin to move against his. Never in a thousand years did he expect Leah Clearwater to kiss him back, but there was no way to deny it: he was kissing Leah Clearwater, and she was kissing him back.

He could taste the ginger and sugar and molasses from the cookie dough. Her scent, so familiar and comforting by now, mixed with the sweetness of the sugar, flooded his senses and Jacob swore that this was worth all the yelling he was sure that Leah would do when he pulled away. If he pulled away. He might die here, in the middle of the Clearwater's kitchen, from the shock of Leah's lips moving against his. Her hands crept up his thin t-shirt and he felt her soft fingers trace over his abs. Her tongue traced the outside of his lip. Jacob was still too scared to move his hands or anything other than his lips, convinced that any type of sudden movement would cause the bubble to burst. He wanted this to last forever.

But nothing lasts forever and this didn't either. There was the sound of the front doorknob jingling, and suddenly, Leah had jumped back, away from the sink.

"Seth," she muttered as a horrified look crossed her face. Her lips were pink and rounder than normal and the panicked expression on her face made it clear that something had just happened. Jacob was sure that they'd been caught.

But when Seth entered the kitchen mere seconds later, he seemed none the wiser, "Jake! What are you doing here?"

"He was helping me make cookies," Leah lied smoothly, in her ever convincing way, "But he was just leaving now, actually, weren't you, Jacob?"

"Uh, yeah. Gotta get back to the garage." He wasn't as convincing of a liar as Leah was, but Seth didn't seem to question anything. Jacob stepped closer to the back door, unsure if this was really his cue to leave or not.

"Seth, do you mind taking Jacob's patrol tonight?" Leah asked sweetly before Jacob could make it to the door.

For the first time, Seth seemed to register that maybe something was off, "Sure! But why?"

"I just didn't sleep well last night and I'm exhausted – that's all." This wasn't a lie. Jacob was tired. He had planned to spend the afternoon sleeping, not kissing Leah. He was beginning to think that his initial plan was better.

"Yeah, I can patrol for you anytime you want!" Not for the first time, Jacob was grateful for Seth's over-eagerness to help.

"Great! Thanks for stopping by, Jacob! See ya later!" Leah didn't physically move, but she managed to all but push him towards the door.

"Bye, Seth. Bye, Leah," Jacob said in a daze as he opened the backdoor, his mind still reeling from the whirlwind he'd just gone through. He'd gone to the Clearwater's to find Billy and get some food and maybe hang out with Seth. Instead, he'd ended up cleaning the Clearwater's kitchen and kissing Leah and he didn't even get any food. A complete pervasion of his earlier plans. Embry had imprinted on a boy and Jacob had kissed Leah Clearwater and lived to tell the tale. Nothing made sense anymore. He hadn't been this confused since he first exploded into a giant wolf. Jacob stumbled out of the Clearwater's house and to the forest feeling as though he had entered a brand new type of purgatory. And this time, he had no idea where he'd end up.


End file.
